Interlinked
by AnimalCookie
Summary: When Chad does something stupid, and tries to cover it up with something stupider, what happens when Sonny gets caught in the crossfire?
1. Leave No Witnesses

**Hey everyone! Here's an idea that kind of filtered into my head earlier this week. Enjoy!

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"I don't see why I have to be the one who has to go talk to Chad," Sonny pouted, crossing her arms.

"Look, Sonny," Nico wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You know we can't do the pink flamingo sketch without our pink flamingo. And as long as Chad has it, we're in trouble."

"You're the only one who can convince him to give it back," Tawni argued.

"I don't think anything I say or do will convince him to return it. Besides, you know he wants one of us to go over there. It's got to be a trap. Why give him the satisfaction of tricking one of us? Can't we just get a new pink flamingo?" Sonny bargained.

"You know Marshall told us this morning the prop funds are running low. He'll freak out if we have to start replacing things," Grady reminded.

"Fine, but when something goes horribly wrong, I'm blaming you four," Sonny scowled and marched out of the prop room. There were, of course, worse things than having to talk with Chad, but he always made it so hard to be human with. Then again, how can you be human with someone who thinks he's a god?

Sonny walked onto the set of _Mackenzie Falls_, her high heels clicking on the hard ground. "Hey, Portlyn, where's Chad?"

"Chad who?" Portlyn grinned manically at her.

"Come on, Portlyn, I don't have a lot of time. I know he stole our pink flamingo. We need it back, _now_."

"If you want to talk to Chad, you're going to have to make an appointment."

"Hey, Chastity," Sonny looked passed Portlyn and called to the girl who played Chloe. "Where's Chad?"

Chastity, who was unaware of the scheme Portlyn was pulling, immediately replied, "He's out back with Ferguson in the parking lot." Sonny wondered what Chad would be doing with the kid who played Trevor in the parking lot, but after flashing Portlyn a quick grin, Sonny hurried out to the back lot.

Sonny instantly spotted the two next to Chad's car and assumed they were just talking. But after only a short period of examination, she realized they were fighting. Without thinking, Sonny ran over to attempt to stop the fight before either of them got in trouble. The last thing she wanted was to be witness to a fight and possibly get in trouble with them.

"I saw you with her!" Chad screamed as Sonny got within hearing distance. "And to think I thought you were my friend."

"Friend? We're just cast mates," Ferguson spat. "You were going to dump her anyways. You told me so yourself." The two boys started circling one another, hinting one of them was about to make contact with the other.

"I'll see to it that you don't make it to next season, then. They obviously didn't teach you the most important lesson in that _cheap_ acting course you took."

"Oh, what's that?" Ferguson egged him on.

"That you don't tick off the star of the show. You would be _nothing_ without me. And I'm going to make sure you are _nothing_ by this time next year."

"Do you know why they call us supporting actors, Chad? It's because the lead actor couldn't survive without us. The lead usually has no sense of the real world, no friends, and no talent."

"Take it back," Chad warned.

"Why don't you make me?"

"Take it back!"

"No!" Ferguson refused.

Suddenly, just before Sonny was able to reach the two, Chad balled his hand into a fist and punched Ferguson to the ground. Chad at once realized the kind of trouble he was in when Ferguson fell to the ground and was not getting up.

"Chad, no!" Sonny shouted on impulse. Chad spun around, terrified there was another witness. "Why would you do that?" Sonny knelt down to see if Ferguson was all right, but he was not opening his eyes.

While attending to the boy on the ground, Sonny suddenly felt a hand clasp the back of her neck and swing her around. When she hit the car bumper, she fell into the open trunk of Chad's car.

"Chad?" she stuttered, utterly confused of what was happening.

"I'm sorry, Sonny," he pushed her shoulder down so that she was lying flat and slammed the trunk close. Sonny had seen the fear and confusion in his eyes, but now all she saw was the darkness. She heard Chad get into the driver's seat and within seconds, he had the car started and the gas pedal floored. Her small body was thrown a short distance against the back end – closest to the bumper – of the trunk space.

It was not until Chad slowed the car down to the legal speed when Sonny began to register what had happened.

She quietly whispered to herself, laughing nervously, "I've been kidnapped. I've been kidnapped by the one and only Chad Dylan Cooper. I'm lying in the trunk of Chad Dylan Cooper's car, because Chad Dylan Cooper locked me in here. This has to be a dream!" Sonny after an hour of mumbling to herself truly had herself convinced that it was all a dream. Because she thought it was a dream, she made no attempt to bang on the trunk or scream when the car came to a stop or kick out one of his taillights. She figured she would eventually wake up, warm in her bed, and laugh about the silliness of the whole plot.

So eight hours later, when Sonny's natural clock was telling her it was dinner time, Sonny ignored the hunger pangs. She figured she was just hungry for breakfast and would be awaking any time soon. She thought perhaps her mother was making waffles and the pure aroma was causing her stomach to rumble.

It was not until midnight, when the cold had set in, dehydration had taken over, and her hunger had intensified, that she began to realize it was all real. She wanted to kill him, she wanted to hold him, she wanted to tear him to shreds for doing this to her, but most importantly, she wanted both of them to return home without getting into trouble.

Suddenly, the top flew up and Sonny saw Chad hovering above her. Even though it was nighttime, she still had to adjust her eyes to the brighter outdoors before she could see him clearly. A hotel sign flickered across the dark parking lot.

"Chad," her dry voice cracked.

"Sonny," he shook his head, silently apologizing to her. "Why were you there?"

"You stole our pink flamingo," she coughed. "Chad, I'm really thirsty and really hungry. Please, if you just let me out, we can go home, and I won't let you get penalized."

"I'm sorry, Sonny, I can't do that. You saw what I did to Ferguson."

Sonny opened her mouth to reply, but she was overcoming by a coughing fit. Chad leaned to the ground and began pulling items out of a brown paper shopping bag. He handed Sonny a bottle of water and a sandwich covered in plastic wrap on a foam tray. He waited as she politely ate and drank everything he gave her – still sitting in the trunk of the car.

"I'll be arrested, I'll lose my job, and my career is ruined," Chad muttered once Sonny was finishing.

"Chad, if you go back now, I'm sure you will be able to talk it out with the authorities. I mean, boys get into fights all the time; they just don't usually kidnap a girl afterwards. _I'm_ going to be what gets you into trouble, not the fight you had with Ferguson," Sonny reasoned.

"That's why we can't go back."

"But I will talk to them, I'll say you and I were going on a drive today and we didn't tell anyone. But if you keep me for more than twenty-four hours, you're risking immunity." Sonny was unaware of how she was raising her voice. It was natural for her to try and take control; unfortunately, there was nothing natural about her current situation.

"Sonny, please, quiet down," Chad begged.

"Chad," she continued to push, "Please, just take me home!" Chad slapped his hand over her mouth, desperate to keep her quiet.

"I really wish I didn't have to do this." He reached into the brown bag and pulled out the largest roll of duct tape Sonny had ever seen. She quivered when she saw the shiny metallic role, and even though she was now speechless, it was too late. Chad hastily wrapped a strip around her mouth then seized her wrists and ankles to secure them together as well. "I'm really sorry, Sonny. I wish I didn't have to do this. Please forgive me." Chad covered her with a new blanket. He closed the trunk once again, locked the car, and walked off to his hotel room for the night.

Sonny decided then, that she even if she could, would not leave Chad. They were now in this together, and she was going to bring him home.

***

"Just, tell me again what she was doing over at Studio Two," Marshall pulled Tawni in the Monroe's kitchen. When Sonny had not returned after an hour of being with Chad, Tawni told Marshall she was gone. When Sonny failed to reappear all day, Mrs. Monroe, Sonny's mom, was forced to call the police who set up the center of operation in the Monroe apartment. The cast of _So Random_ all came to comfort Connie.

"Chad stole our pink flamingo for the pink flamingo sketch and we sent Sonny down to reclaim it for us. That was the last time any of us saw her," Tawni explained. Sonny's words, _'Fine, but when something goes horribly wrong, I'm blaming you four'_ were like a track on repeat in Tawni's head. She shuttered every time she thought someone grabbing Sonny in one of the long, dark hallways.

"We have a new lead," one of the officers announced, calling everyone back to attention. "Apparently, Mr. Chad Dylan Cooper also went missing sometime shortly after Miss Monroe left to go to his set. Now, we cannot be sure if the two stories are connected at this time. What I can tell you, is that the last person to see Sonny was one of Mr. Cooper's cast mates, and she said she was looking for Mr. Cooper. Another one of his cast mates reports getting in a fight with Mr. Cooper just before he disappeared. We are investigating these details, but I suggest you all go home and get some rest."

"Well, I hope you kids are happy," Marshall scolded them as he reached for his jacket. "Chad didn't have the pink flamingo – I did."

"But we caught Chad on our cameras taking it from the prop room!" Zora exclaimed.

"No, I was running late one evening, and I asked Chad to move a few things to my office. I told you, we're running low on funds, so I'm selling a few items on the internet. She never should have had to go down there. Why did you just tell me it was missing?" Everyone looked at their shoes. They all knew why, just no one wanted to speak. They became inundated with guilt and could not find the words which would rectify their choices.

***

A few hours after she last saw him, Chad opened the trunk and found her asleep quietly. He cringed seeing the silver tape covering her, but he forced himself to believe it had to be done. "Sonny," he whispered, tapping her in the morning darkness. Chad unwrapped her ankles and wrists and gently tore the tape from her lips. The adhesive had pulled the moisture from her usual supple, pink lips, leaving them dry and chapped. There was a rectangular red mark across her face, even thought Chad had used extreme caution. Slowly, he pulled her out of the trunk for the first time in almost a day and allowed her to take a few steps around.

Sonny at first stumbled, but he caught her and aided her through the next few strides. It was still so early, the parking lot lights were still on and not a sole was around to even see her.

"Chad, can I ride with you up front today?" Sonny begged, not wanting to go back into the trunk.

"No, people would recognize you. This was printed this morning," he handed her page six of the newspaper. It was an article completely about her disappearance. To Chad's relief, it did not mention him at all.

"They're going to connect the pieces, Chad. We need to go _home_," Sonny urged. She looked over the newspaper and saw 'Santa Fe Starlight' as the title of the publication. "Santa Fe? What are we doing in New Mexico? You've taken me across state lines? Chad, you have no idea how much trouble you're in."

"Yes, I do. That's why we're not going home. This is your new home, for now. Let me just figure something out, okay?" Chad shouted. He maneuvered Sonny closer to the car, reapplied the duct tape, and lifted her back into the trunk. He ran his fingers through her hair before closing the top and locking her away in the darkness.


	2. Darkness

**Hey everyone, thanks for the really sweet reviews you sent in. I would have like to have updated yesterday, but I reinjured my wrist for like the tenth time since January and it was hurting too much to type - I should probably get it checked out :P.  
I hope you enjoy this chapter!!!! **

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"Hey, man, thanks for the stuff. I really owe you, Aiden." Chad slapped his friend on the back. He dug through the bag various materials.

"So," the other boy tapped his foot, eyeing Chad down. Chad looked at him, confused as to what he wanted. "When do I get to meet her?"

"I'm not so sure if that's a good idea."

"Chad, you promised!" Aiden pushed him slightly. "You said, if I got you some hair dye, food, toiletries, and some of my sister's clothing, I got to meet Sonny Monroe. Chad, I promised you I wouldn't turn you in if you got here. But I want to meet her!"

"Fine. Just give me a minute, Aiden." Chad picked up the back of supplies and walked out the garage where Aiden had let him park the car. "Sonny, come on, Sonny, wake up."

"Chad?" Sonny blinked a few times trying to gather her surroundings. "Where are we?"

"We're at a friend's house. He gave us some supplies. He wants to meet you, though." Chad, already having the tape on her mouth removed, began on her ankles and wrists. The adhesive on the tape was beginning to react with her skin, leaving faded red circles at her joints.

"What time is it?" Sonny rubbed her eyes and wrists. The garage felt really warm so she knew it was later in the day.

"It's almost one o' clock," he replied, helping her up the steps inside.

"Sonny? Sonny Monroe?" Aiden immediately stood to greet his favorite celebrity. Chad was his _friend_ and did not really count as a celebrity to Aiden. "Wow, I can't believe you're standing here in my house. You're amazing on _So Random_. Can I have your autograph?"

"Um, sure," Sonny looked at Chad nervously. She was shocked when Aiden dashed out of the room and brought back a larger-than-life sized poster of her.

"Here, can you sign just right across your arm? That would be perfect!" Aiden cheered.

"Do you think I could use your bathroom?" Sonny suddenly felt a horrible pain through her bladder. "And maybe take a quick shower?" She looked between the two boys for both their approval.

"Sonny Monroe, mi casa su casa. What's mine is yours," Aiden glowed at the thought of her using his bathroom facilities.

"Yeah, just make it quick," Chad allowed. "There isn't a window in the bathroom, is there?"

"No," Aiden muttered, gazing at his signed poster. "Hey, do you think she'll take a picture with me?" Chad gave him an annoyed look. "Never mind. Just, you're not going to hurt her, right?"

"Of course not. She didn't do anything," Chad sighed.

"Because I'm helping you out as a friend, but if you hurt her, I'm going to have to call the police."

"Aiden! I'm not going to hurt her. I just don't know what to do with her yet." The two boys heard the shower burst on upstairs. There was a long, uncomfortable quietness which put both males on edge. Chad was terrified someone had seen him pull in and the police were going to break down the door any minute. Aiden, on the other hand, was skipping school that day to help them out, and he feared the principal was going to call his mother who would then come home and catch him red-handed.

"So," Aiden blew air through his lips. "Chad Dylan Cooper is really going to dye his hair black? The pretty girls are going to miss that angelic blonde."

"I know, but I'm too recognizable. Hey, do you still have those fake glasses? You know the ones with the big, black frames? We used to play with them all the time when we were kids."

"Yeah, hang on," Aiden ran out of his kitchen and up to his bedroom. He heard the water hitting the bottom of his shower and imagined the girl he loved inside. "Sonny, you okay?" Aiden pushed the door open but did not permit himself to look in.

"Yeah, I'm almost done," she said softly.

"All right, just come back downstairs when you're ready. You and Chad can have lunch before you go." He closed the door and returned to Chad with the glasses. Chad tried them on and was shocked to see they still fit. "They always were big on you when we were kids."

While the boys talked idly downstairs, Sonny stood under the warm water, thinking over her options. She could sneak downstairs and run off, she could search the upstairs for a phone and stall until the police arrived, she could please with Aiden to keep her from Chad, but no matter the number of possible escapes she came up with, the one she kept returning to was staying with Chad. She wanted to be with him when it was over and it was not going to be over until he returned to Condor Studios.

***

"So do you know if Ferguson is okay?" Aiden turned from the stove to face Chad.

"I don't know," Chad drew a circle on the counter with his finger. "I hit him really hard. I don't even know if he's alive."

"I'm sure you didn't hit him _that _hard," Aiden gave him the benefit of the doubt, but was shocked when Chad showed him the bruising on his knuckles.

"I hit him with a closed fist. Who knows what happened to him. I guess it depends on how quickly someone found him."

"He was breathing when I came," Sonny popped out from around the corner. Her hair was still wet, but she looked cleaned, refreshed, and happier. "I think he'll be okay."

"Wow," Aiden could not stop looking at her. "You're really hot." Sonny began to blush. What do you say to that? Chad smacked him over the head to refocus his attention. "Ow!" Aiden turned to his friend, holding his head. "Would you like some lunch, Sonny?"

Sonny nodded intensely, "Yes, I'm starving."

"Chad, aren't you feeding her?" Aiden accused.

"No, he did," Sonny stuck up for him.

"I'm going to go dye my hair. I'll be back soon," Chad stood to leave. When he came back, he was going to be a different Chad Dylan Cooper.

***

Chad drove for another twelve hours before finally pulling in to a vacant motel. He had played around in New Mexico for a while before working his way to Oklahoma, and finally stopping in Texas. Around the devil's hour, Chad snuck out of his room and attended to Sonny. When the lights installed inside the trunk flickered on, he could see a few tears streaking passed her eyes and down her cheeks.

He released the bandana gag he had around her mouth – one of the things Aiden had given him. The fabric was a bit less abrasive to her face, but he kept the tape on her wrists and ankles – he could not come up with anything that would be better for her.

"What's wrong?" He pulled her out and wiped the tears away, before scolding himself inwardly for asking such a stupid question.

"The last thing I told the cast was that I would blame them if anything happened to me while I was over at _Mackenzie Falls_. It was just a joke, but they must think I hate them. That got me thinking about my mom. She has to be so scared! Chad, please just let me call her," Sonny pleaded.

"I can't do that, Sonny. But I got you a warm sandwich. I thought you might be cold." Sonny nodded, agreeing to his statement. She figuring there was no point in pushing him. If she did, he was only more likely to push her back into the dark, lonely trunk and leave her for another several hours.

Chad handed her the heated sandwich. He looked so different. The jet black hair, the thick black glasses, he had even stopped at a thrift store to pick up new clothing. She had been given some of Aiden's sister's old clothing to change into, but it was only for comfort and not to mislead others about her identification.

"So where are we now?" Sonny looked around, holding the food in her hands.

"Texas. I always thought you might like it here – even though you're a northern girl and whatnot," Chad leaned against the car.

"It's really quiet; we must not be near a big town."

"No," Chad said questioningly. It was beginning to sound as if she was planning on making a run for it. "I think it's time to close up." Chad quickly regained his posture, took the second half of the sandwich from her, and put her back into his car. He quickly reapplied the bindings while Sonny begged Chad to tell her what she had done wrong. But his lips were sealed.

***

"What is going on?" Mr. Condor called both Marshall and the _Mackenzie Fall_'s producer, Ethan, into his office. "I am sick of these accusations that Chad kidnapped Sonny or Sonny kidnapped Chad. I want to know where they are at."

"Uh, M-Mr. Condor," Marshall stuttered. It was never good to tell Mr. Condor what he did not want to hear. "The police think that there is a chance Sonny and Chad might be together, wherever they are. Things like that are hard to be contained. But I promise you, if I even thought I knew where Sonny was, I'd have her back home and in the studio already."

"Same with us, Mr. Condor," Ethan spoke up. "We need Chad – he's our star. _Mackenzie Falls_ is nothing without Mackenzie after all. I'm sure there is just a misunderstanding somewhere. You know, like a miscommunication. I'm sure they are both fine and they'll be home soon. They can all explain themselves then."

"Chad and Sonny disappear after Chad knocked out his cast mate, and you call that a _miscommunication_?" Mr. Condor retorted.

"Mr. Condor, I really don't know what to say. There's nothing _we _can do. The police are already doing everything possible," Ethan replaced his words.

"Yes, and everything the police can't do, Connie Monroe – Sonny's mother – is finding someone who can. We're going to have to wait this one out, and hope they return safely," Marshall stepped in.

"Well, because _you _can't film without a Mackenzie," Mr. Condor pointed at Ethan, "And _you _cannot film with only four cast members," he gestured to Marshall. "So you leave me no choice. Both of you are to play re-runs until Sonny and Chad return. "Marshall, you will refund all of the tickets you audience has pre-purchased, and Ethan, you're going to still pay your actors for their time off."

"What? Why doesn't he have to?" Ethan shouted like a child.

"Because," Marshall interjected, "the money we get from our live audience is what pays our actors."

"Enough!" Mr. Condor ordered. "You two are dismissed."

***

Sonny waited all day for Chad to come and check on her again. When she awoke the next morning – at least she thought it was morning – the car was already in motion. Chad was driving fast, but nothing exceeding a freeway speed limit. She was surprised he had not given her a bottle of water or let her out again before the morning began. Every time the car stopped, Sonny was hopeful he was coming around, but she quickly learned that if she did not hear his car door open, he was still driving. A few times through the day, the car did stop and he did get out of the car, but it was only for food, gas, or a bathroom break. Which reminded her, she _really _needed to go to the bathroom again. Sitting in the dark, she had no idea how much time had passed. She felt as though she had slept for a long time since he had last let her out, but she really could not tell. Perhaps she had only been asleep for an hour or two. Perhaps it was only the middle of the day. But shortly after she began to think this, the temperature in the car began to drop and she knew night was drowning out the earth.

Finally, what seemed a lifetime of enduring the pain that wrenched through Sonny's body from holding in the urge to go to the bathroom, Chad opened the trunk.

"What happened? Did you forget about me?" Sonny began to whisper harshly as soon as Chad removed her gag. She was furious, hungry, scared, and weak.

"Quiet," Chad warned. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

"I have to go to the bathroom," Sonny declared. She unsure of where they were once Chad pulled her from the car. There were trees all around and a small row of tiny cabins.

Chad pointed to the wooded area, "It's right over there."

"What? You want me to use a tree?" Sonny said in disgust.

"You could use a bush if you wanted. Doesn't a girl from Wisconsin doesn't know how to use the woods?"

"Of course I do, Chad," she was getting irritated with him. "I just don't appreciate that you've kept me locked up all day, and the only relief I get is a tree!"

"Would you be quiet?" Chad scolded.

"Hold that thought," she stopped him and ran off for the woods. "Now, what were you saying?" she returned a few minutes later.

"Never mind, just come on," Chad pulled her by her upper arm.

"Please, Chad, don't put me back in there, I can't take the darkness anymore," Sonny implored. "Just a little longer in the fresh air, please."

Chad stopped walking. He had neglected to let her out for almost twenty-four hours and he did not want her to feel like she was a prisoner, but having her out even this long was risking getting caught. "I'm sorry," he mumbled as he sat her down at the edge of the trunk and swung her legs around.

"Chad, please. Don't leave me alone," Sonny cried as she felt the cold tape against her flesh.


	3. Cooper Come Home

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, alerting, etc. I am beginning school this week, so updates may start drifting apart, but I will try to keep them coming as soon as I can. Thank you again for the amazing support!  
Enjoy! :)

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Sonny lay in the dark, afraid to move. She had now gone almost two days without any food at all. She just felt tired all of the time. There was nothing for her to do but sleep. Unfortunately, one cannot sleep all of the time and Sonny felt as if she was going crazy just sitting there. Throughout the day, Chad would turn on the radio to soothe his nerves, and for a few minutes, Sonny could get lost in the music as well. But it would all end when a commercial break came, or Chad changed the channel in the middle of her favorite song, or when he would turn off the radio entirely.

Chad's fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly, that he was leaving indents in the wheel. Every time a police car got near him, his heart began to pound and a ring of sweat formed around his face. When he actually heard police sirens, he even began to shake, but relaxed a bit when the officer would fly by him and pull someone else over. Sonny sneezed once around noon, and Chad had to pull over to an abandoned parking lot to rebuke her for making noise. Using her eyes as the sole form of communication, Sonny attempted to prove she had not meant to cause a distraction, but he only responded by slamming the trunk back down.

***

"I don't want _her_ in my house, near my house, or even in the same area code as my house," another of Chad's friends, Justin, shouted over the phone.

"Come on, dude. We don't even have to do it at your house. I really need a new car and I know your dad owns the junkyard. You know I can get you whatever money you need. Just tell me when and where and I'll be there," Chad pushed.

"What kind of car do you want?" Justin sighed.

"Anything that will stay under the radar. Nothing that is too flashy, but at the same time, it needs to be able to withstand constant driving. It also needs to have decent trunk space. I could also use a new license plate, a fake ID, and I could also use some cash. I tried to take out as much as I could before they locked my bank accounts down, but they only let you take out so much."

"What do you want your name to be?" Justin rubbed his temple and cursed the day he and Chad swore to do anything for one another.

***

"Chad, please, I'm starving," Sonny sat up once Chad removed the bindings on her.

"I know," Chad rubbed her back softly before lifting her out of the car. He closed the trunk and had her sit on top of her own prison. "I can't get you anything right now, but once I make a quick trade with a friend, I'll find you something."

Sonny nodded, satisfied with at least the fact she was getting fed at all that day. Chad saw her squinting her eyes from the sunlight. He took note of the pale, white tone her skin had taken on, and the dark rings resting beneath her eyes. He knew he was unintentionally killing her slowly by the lack of care he was providing – and she never once complained. Of course she asked for something like food, water, or a toilet every once in a while, but if he refused, she seemed to understand.

Although the rays of sun stung her eyes, Sonny absorbed the comforting waves of heat gratefully. She was not sure why Chad was allowing her now to sit out in the open daylight, but it did not take long for her to realize they were in the middle of nowhere – an abandoned parking lot in a seemingly abandoned part of an abandoned town. For a split second, Sonny was afraid someone would jump out and try to hurt her, but she was comfortable with the knowledge that Chad would save her. He was not going to let anything bad happen to her.

"Here, you can have this for now," Chad dug out a half-empty water bottle. He wished there was more, but it was all he had. She thanked him with a smile and quickly began to sip at the top, hoping not to waste any. Chad shook his head and kicked a stone. Even when she was unexpectedly kidnapped, she still did not leave her smile behind.

He began to pull all of the items from the car and put them in a pile next to his car. Sonny watched curiously, but did not worry too much about his actions. Whatever he was doing, he was still going to take care of her.

Suddenly, the sound of tires on gravel broke the silence and Justin appeared. He was driving a navy blue car which Chad guessed was maybe five years old, but still in great condition – it was exactly what he wanted.

"Hey, Chad," Justin stepped out of the car, "Miss Monroe."

"Hey, Justin. Listen, thanks again, man. This means so much to me," Chad tried to push his point by taking a few steps closer to his close friend.

"Look, Chad. I just want you to know, that I do _not_ approve of this. The only reason I'm helping you and that _skank_, is because I don't want to see you get hurt. Just if I fall into your hole, I'm going to rat you out to save myself."

Sonny bit her lip, closed her eyes, and put her head down upon hearing what Justin called her. She knew he was angry and scared and probably was not thinking through his actions, but it did not make the words hurt any less.

Chad glanced back at Sonny to make sure she was not hurt too much by Justin's comment, but he dared not admonish his friend. Justin had Chad's life in his hands, so Chad needed Justin's friendship.

"All right, so the new plate is already on the car, here's your new ID. As you asked, your name is Garret Peterson. It's your same birthday and everything, so you don't have to worry about forgetting that. Here's two-thousand dollars. It's all the bank would allow me to withdraw at once without filing a claim. And finally, these are yours." Justin threw the keys to the new car at Chad, and Chad handed the keys to his precious convertible over to Justin. He tried his best not to cringe when the keys jingled against the other boy's hand.

"Thank you so much, Justin. If you ever need something, anything from me. Just let me know."

"Yeah, if you're not in jail," Justin mumbled as he walked over to Chad's car, applied yet another license plate, and gestured rudely for Sonny to get off. Sonny hopped off the edge of the car with Chad's help as Justin pulled away from the parking lot and away with Chad's car.

"Come on," Chad motioned for Sonny to grab a few of his belongings and put them in the new car. Sonny picked up the duct tape, her blanket, and the flashlight Chad always possessed when he would dig her out at nighttime. She tried not to think about the darkness, the loneliness, the cramping muscles, or the fear. When it was time for her to take her place in the new trunk, she submitted quietly.

The new ride was rough. It did not ride nearly as smoothly as Chad's car and made much more noise, preventing Sonny from falling into the comfort of sleep as easily.

After several more hours of driving, the car slowed to a stop and Sonny heard Chad leave the car. She prayed for his footsteps to return, but after two hours, when she was still lying there alone, she lost hope of getting fed that night. Crickets chirped off in the distance and quietly lulled her to sleep. Her urge to go to the bathroom was coming less often due to the lack of food and liquid, but she still had to go by that time of night.

She began to dream of the time she had gotten locked inside one of the props during a live show. She was supposed to be someone who was shipped to them in a rather small wooden box and the box was supposed to fall apart with Grady barely touching it. But as he rested his hand on it, the box stayed shut and when Nico came over, neither boy could open it. They then had to adlib the rest of the sketch. When they drug the box backstage, Sonny was released by one of the stage crewmen with a crowbar.

"Sonny," Chad tapped her shoulder. It was pitch black outside, but Sonny could still make him out. He cut off the tape from her ankles and wrists, but left the bandana on. Once he removed her from the trunk, he closed and locked the car and began to carry off with her blanket still wrapped around her. He wished she would have walked, but there was not enough time for him to allow her to regain full movement in her legs.

Sonny was half terrified as to what he was doing, but she still trusted him. She looked up and saw a small, sleazy motel in front of them. He rushed up to one of the doors, set her down, and ushered her inside. The moment he relocked the door, he pointed towards the bathroom and smiled a tiny bit when she immediately rushed to it. He had become accustomed with her certain needs and actions. It made him feel good that he was able to do something nice for her.

***

"What do you mean we're not getting paid this week?" Tawni growled, cornering Marshall down. "If I don't get paid, I can't go shopping. And if I can't go shopping, then I won't have anything new to wear when the press sees me. And if the press doesn't see me, then _So Random_ suffers. And if _So Random_ suffers, then we're all out of a job. So tell me again why _I'm_ not getting paid?"

"Tawni, you know that if we cancel shows, then we can't get paid," Marshall tried to explain, fearing for his life.

"Why can't we do the show?" Nico argued. "I mean, we would feel bad about doing it without Sonny, but it's not a necessity to have five of us."

"Well, Mr. Condor thinks it is, and what Mr. Condor thinks is always fact."

"So do we get the time off until Sonny is back or do we still have to come in?" Grady questioned.

"I think it would be best for you all to come in, work on sketches, and prepare anyways, just in case Sonny comes back anytime soon."

***

"Thank you, Chad," Sonny spoke after finishing half of the pizza Chad had ordered. "Or maybe I should say, Garret."

"Sonny, please don't be mad at me," Chad begged.

"_Skanks_ don't get mad, Chad." Sonny looked down at the gray carpeting. There were stains everywhere, all of varying colors. "Really, Chad, I'm not mad." She heaved a sigh. "But I guess I am ready to go back. No point in dragging tonight out any longer. I'll let you get to sleep – we don't want you getting into an accident now."

"No, Sonny, you're staying with me tonight," Chad declared. "I figured you could use some time out of the car. Plus, I have television!" Chad waved a remote. Both of them sat on the single bed as the television flickered on. Unfortunately, they found only a single working channel, the midnight news. Chad pushed himself against the headboard while Sonny stayed at the foot of the bed.

"Following a developing story, Los Angelis police have determined that Chad Dylan Cooper, teen star of _Mackenzie_ _Falls_, has very likely kidnapped Sonny Monroe, another teen star from _So Random_. Monroe's mother had this to say," the anchorwoman introduced the clip of Connie speaking in front of several paparazzi and news stations.

"We all just want Sonny back safe and sound. To whoever truly does have her, I beg you, please keep her safe and if you can find it in your heart, bring her back home. I don't know what she did to get you angry, but I'm sure it can all be rectified if she is returned unharmed. I will be willing to drop all charges if she is brought back to me. That is the best and only ransom I am able to provide for my daughter." Connie had to pull away from the cameras to hide her tears. Sonny shook when she saw her mother's condition. It appeared as if she had not slept in days, she had obviously been crying nonstop, and she looked so scared. She did not even know if Sonny was alive or not.

Unexpectedly, Ferguson appeared next on the screen, "Chad, man, I don't know if you have Sonny or not, but wherever you are, you need to come home. _Mackenzie Falls_ can't go on if you're not here. I'm sorry we fought. You are my friend, dude. It was wrong for me to do what I did, and if you're listening, we need you back. Please, Cooper, come home."

Chad quickly turned off the television and tossed the remote to the corner of the room. "I'm tired, I need to sleep," he lied. Sonny agreed, waiting for him to explain where she would be sleeping. As if he read her mind, Chad stood, took her hand, and pulled her back to the floor. He brought out a pair of plastic handcuffs from his pocket. The cuffs were a toy, but Chad figured Sonny would be too weak still to even escape those. He fastened one around one wrist, wrapped the chain around one of the bed's legs, closest to the top, and then placed the empty cuff around her bare wrist. He reached up and found one of two pillows on the bed and gently positioned it under her head. The red bandana, which had been pushed down to her neck, contrasted greatly against the white pillow. Chad found her blanket and wrapped it around her small frame. "Goodnight, Sonny," he whispered.

"Goodnight, Chad." Sonny replied. Chad climbed into the motel bed and both of them pretended for the next hour that they were sleeping. Finally, after once her thoughts were driving her crazy, Sonny spoke out. "Hey, Chad, are you awake?"

"Yeah," Chad answered after a moment of hesitation. "What's up?"

"I don't think I can do this to my mom much longer. Is there any chance of us ever going home?"

"I don't know, Sonny, I just don't know."


	4. Shadows

**Hey! Thank you everyone! I got a lot of stuff done today, so I decided to update. It's a shorter chapter, not as much going on. More, much more in the following chapters. Enjoy!!!

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Chad paced across the small motel room. He had managed to wake up, shower, brush his teeth, and change his clothing without waking Sonny up, but he was becoming anxious as the sun began to glow through the dark horizon. He should have let her sleep in the bed. What was he thinking? He could have taken the floor instead.

"Sonny, get up," Chad finally marched over to the girl still chained to the bed. He pulled the blanket off, making her cringe to the cool air. After realizing she was needed, Sonny sat up, inhaling through her nose and rubbing her eyes. The carpeting left an imprint all down Sonny's right side, but it was most noticeable along her face.

Once extended as far off the ground as the handcuffs would allow, Sonny looked up at Chad through squinted eyes and smiled, "Good morning. Sleep well?"

"Yeah," Chad replied, curious as to why she would ask him when he was the one with the bed. "Sonny, how fast can you shower?" Chad kneeled down to unlock the handcuffs. He turned his head so it was mere inches from hers.

"Two minutes and fifty four seconds. No more no less," she replied. Marshall tested each of them once a month to make sure they could shower off completely during the four minute commercial break. They had to shower in under three minutes, change in thirty seconds, then have makeup reapplied in the last thirty seconds, and be out on stage ready to go when the curtains rose. They rarely ever had to shower during a show, but it did happen. Sonny remembered her last time being two minutes and fifty four seconds – one second fast than Tawni's time.

"Okay, make it two minutes and fifty three seconds and I'll be happy. We have to get going. Here's a new set of clothing," Chad pushed a fresh set of clothing at her and ushered her into the bathroom; closing the door once she was inside. For the next three minutes, he sat at the end of the bed tapping his foot. He looked down at his watch every five seconds, but it felt more like five minutes to him.

To his relief, the water finally shut off, and seconds later, Sonny popped out in the clothing he gave her. It was baggy on her – Aiden's sister was not as petite as Sonny. Chad missed seeing her in bright, fun colors and a style all her own. Aiden's sister was so athletic and such a tomboy. She barely had a single article of clothing that was not related to a sport in some way. Even the shirt Sonny was wearing was a blue high school varsity soccer t-shirt and the black shorts were from varsity field hockey.

"What's my time?" Sonny asked, catching her breath.

"Huh?" Chad stood up.

"Did I beat my time?"

"Oh, I wasn't paying attention," he admitted. "Come on, we have to go." Chad approached her slowly but with a dominant posture.

"What no breakfast in bed?" Sonny smirked, laughing. It had been too long since her last joke. But Chad was not laughing. He was not even smiling.

"Where's the bandana?" he growled. Sonny picked through the pile of old clothing and pulled out the red material. Chad quickly spun her around and pulled it around her mouth. He was careful not to tie it too tight – he did not want to hurt her.

Chad pushed Sonny out of the door and ran her over to the new car. It was still dark enough to keep them hidden, but shadows were beginning to form, and shadows meant daylight. He found the thinning roll of duct tape, pulled her hands behind her, hastily wrapped them together, and then bound her legs together at the ankles. Chad finally secured her in the trunk and shut the top just as another car was pulling up. Chad sighed out his anxieties, leaning against the trunk, and waving to the person who drove by. Hiding in plain sight was always a good idea.

Sonny opened her eyes and all she saw was darkness. She was beginning to become weary of Chad's mood swings and spontaneous reactions. One minute, he is allowing her to sleep in the motel room with him, and the next, he is treating her like a piece of undesirable meat. She was getting sick of the aching in her muscles from being locked in an unnatural position all day and all night. And she was getting more and more irritated with the person she was trying to protect and support. How could he do this to her? Was he hiding something more? Chad is not this kind of person. Why would he do this to her?

Suddenly, Sonny felt a pang of guilt explode inside of her. "Pity Party, table for one, Sonny Monroe," she whispered through the loose gag. How could she feel bad for herself? Chad was lost, _So Random_ and _Mackenzie Falls_ were in peril, there were tons of police officers sacrificing precious family time to look for her, and her poor mother was a wreck from worrying so much. If anybody should be happy, it should have been Sonny. She knew she was safe, she knew where she was, and she knew Chad was going to keep her alive. Sonny knew she was the luckiest of them all.

***

"Mrs. Monroe?" Tawni knocked gently at the Monroe's apartment door.

"Go away," Connie retorted. "Leave me alone. Haven't we all suffered enough?"

"Mrs. Monroe, it's me, Tawni," the blonde went on to explain. Connie quickly stood and opened the door. "Has there been any word?"

"No," Mrs. Monroe shook her head.

"Oh, okay. How are you doing?"

"I'm surviving. I just hope Sonny is," he choked back multiple tears. She did not want to have to cry in front of her daughter's friend. "Would you like to stay for dinner, Tawni?"

"I wouldn't want to impose…"

"Please," Connie begged.

"Sure, I'd like that."

***

"She's a mess," Tawni declared the next morning after spending the night at the Monroe's apartment. "Even when she's trying to act happy, her mask is so transparent."

"I'm going to go crazy if we have to just sit around again today," Nico whined.

"What do you want to do? We've already written thirteen new sketches, designed costumes for them all, and if I eat another fro-yo, I'm going to fro-yo all over this prop house."

"If only there was a way we could get Chad to let Sonny talk to her mom. That could work. But how are we going to reach Chad? He's dropped all contact."

"I told her she should have let me put that tracking chip into her head. But _no_!" Zora threw her hands up in the air. "It's too 'dangerous' and 'not FDA approved,'" Zora air-quoted. "But you all can still do it," Zora held up a tiny computer chip and an electric drill.

"I don't think there's anything _we_ can do. Just let the police handle it, Tawni. They've done this a billion times," Nico gave his twisted assurance.

"I just wish they would find _something_ that would help. The suspense is killing me!" Tawni collapse to the sofa and covered her face.

***

The sun was setting as Chad drove across another abandoned road. No one was around for miles. He turned the radio down to absorb the silence and gather his thoughts. Sonny had not made a noise since he had let her out that morning to use an abandoned porter potty. Not a sneeze, cough, whimper, or laugh the entire day.

Just as Chad was feeling comforted by the quietness of the Texan evening, he heard a muffled, shrill cry from the trunk. The car rocked back and forth as Sonny kicked and moved her body back and forth to the best of her ability. She continued to try screaming through the bandana simultaneously. Chad instantly pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"What is wrong with you?" he gritted his teeth. He pulled her up by two fistfuls of shirt. He thought she would be scared of him, but she just buried her head into his chest. He looked around to ensure no one was coming then removed the bandana.

"Chad, I need help, please, someone kidnapped me, Chad help me, please. Save me. Don't let them take me. Chad, I need you." Chad pulled her away from his body and sat her back down.

"Sonny, what's the matter with you?" Chad felt her forehead, feeling a slight fever.

"Chad!" She replaced fear with concern. "I have to get home," she tried to push herself out of the trunk again using only her legs. "I have to get home and feed my cat. My cat needs me, Chad. Chad, why are you stopping me?" Sonny struggled against his hands on her shoulders. "Chad, I need to feed my cat. Mr. Truffles is hungry."

"Sonny, you don't have a cat," Chad stated.

"But Mr. Truffles!" Sonny fought.

"Sonny!" Chad shouted, but she only struggled in his grasp harder. "Sonny!" Chad began to lose control of her. Swiftly, he brought his hand to her cheek, smacking her. "Sonny, calm down," he ordered. She had stopped squirming completely and sat still. "Sonny?"


	5. Poker Face

**Wow, I can't tell you all what an impact the response to the last chapter made. I was almost losing faith in this story, but everyone reading it brought it back to life. Thank you so much!**

**By the way, I don't think I've mentioned yet that I do not own SWAC (just in case someone was about to turn me in).**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter!!!**

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"You…you hit me," Sonny stuttered, looking deeply into Chad's eyes.

"Sonny, I'm sorry, you were just…" Chad attempted to explain.

"After all the years of my life I gave to you? After everything I have ever done for you? After having three of your children, you _hit_ me?" Sonny's eyes began to water. Her face began to flush red, and Chad knew her fever was probably getting worse.

"We have to get you to a doctor," he sighed. "Sonny, if I let you sit up front, you have to promise you won't cause any trouble." Chad hated the risk he was about to take, but he feared she would get worse if he kept her locked away.

"Where are we going?" Sonny questioned. "Is Mr. Condor throwing you a birthday party? Maybe there will be a clown." She began to laugh to herself while mental images of old men in funny costumes danced in her head.

Chad clipped her into the seat and quickly scurried around to his own side. He left the tape on her wrists and ankles, but was forced to remove the bandana completely. It is just a little too suspicious to be seen driving down the freeway with someone gagged in your passenger's seat.

He kept the air conditioning on, hoping it would reduce her fever somewhat. He began to ponder all of the things that might be wrong with Sonny. The list included: heat stroke, dehydration, panic attacks, starvation, unknown mental illness, and Munchausen Syndrome. The more he thought about it, he eliminated dehydration and starvation. He was keeping her fed well enough, this was not his fault. He could not have done something to cause this. Next he looked at the unknown mental illness. Name a single Random that did not have one anyway? But over a few minutes, he decided Sonny was probably the healthiest, and it was not likely for it to set on so suddenly.

"Chad," Sonny interrupted his thoughts. "When we get to Europe, I want to go shopping." She sighed, staring out the window. Chad was careful to drive in the lane furthest to the right, so no one would come up next to them and see her.

Chad shook his head. It could not have been a panic attack. If Sonny was so claustrophobic, that it would send her into full delirium, then she would have said something to him days ago. He worried about heat stroke, because this time of year, Texas could get really hot, and it does not take very long for cars to get hot on the inside. But as he felt her forehead again, the fever still stood, but it was not hot enough to be full out heat stroke. He had been a witness to someone with heat stroke once, and Sonny did not fit the profile.

"Did he call you back?" Sonny tugged on Chad's arm.

"Did who call me?" Chad answered, forgetting she was speaking nonsense.

"You know," she whispered slyly. "You're boyfriend. It's been a week since your first date, has he called you back?"

Chad blushed and ignored the question as she started to look out the window again. What else could be going wrong with her? If it was not environmental or psychological, then it had to be Munchausen Syndrome. That was the only thing to explain it. Chad clawed into the steering wheel. His face turned bright red and he glared at Sonny. "I can't believe you," he declared in disgust, because she was faking the whole episode.

"Chad, I'm sorry," Sonny began to cry and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I never meant to hurt you. I don't love him. I'm sorry, it was a mistake, it meant nothing. But I love you. I've always loved you."

"Drop the act, Sonny, I know what you're doing," Chad shook her off.

"Well, officer, if you know what I'm doing, why don't you arrest me," she whispered seductively in his ear. Her lips grazed his ear, sending strange chills over of his body.

Chad immediately pulled over, looked around, and then marched over to Sonny's side. He flung the door open in a blind rage, cuffed his hands under her arms, and drug her to the back. He dropped her on the ground while he opened the trunk, and then dumped her inside. He heard her call out a few random phrases, but his only response was to turn up the volume on the radio to drown her out.

***

"Mrs. Monroe, we must speak with you about a very grave matter," the police chief entered the Monroe's apartment. "Mrs. Monroe, you have told us there is no one out there who would have any reason of harming Sonny directly. We assumed at first that someone kidnapped her for the ransom money. She's a celebrity, she has money, her friends have money, and her bosses have money. Once this deal with Chad Dylan Cooper appeared, we feared they may be involved in something together, but people like Chad Dylan Cooper, people who are not truly sick in the head, do not hang on to their hostages this long. They will usually call, return home, or abandon their hostage at a public location."

"What are you saying then, officer?" Connie held her breath.

"Mrs. Monroe, something may have gone wrong between Sonny and her kidnapper. They may have fought, Sonny may have talked back, the kidnapper may have gotten scared, or there may have been an accident. Mrs. Monroe, we are not cancelling the search, all we are doing is reducing the level from a Search and Rescue event to a Search and Recover."

"You think they killed her?" Connie caught on quickly. "No, no one killed my Sonny. Officer, I think you're mistaken. You see, that _can't_ happen to Sonny. Her future is too bright. There is too much planned for her."

"Mrs. Monroe, I know this is hard, and I hate to be the one who has to break the news, but that is where we stand right now down at the LAPD. If you need anything, if you hear anything, or if you remember anything please contact us."

***

Chad grunted. He could not sleep, he was still too angry at Sonny for pretending to be sick. What was she thinking she was going to do? Flag someone down so she would be rescued and he would be arrested? No. Chad Dylan Cooper was _not_ going to jail.

Looking at his watch, the time was just tipping past two-thirty in the morning. The room was getting cold and he began to shiver. Chad had already gone to sleep fully dressed with both covers on, but the air just seemed to nip at any exposed skin and seep throughout the rest of his body. He slowly became guilty of leaving Sonny outside. He had not even covered her that night with the blanket. The sheer thought of seeing her face again made his stomach twist in hatred.

The wind blew outside against the window as Chad's guilt grew. Grunting again, Chad popped out of his comfortable bed, slid his feet into his sneakers, and walked outside. This motel seemed even more untrustworthy than the last. However, it was nearly completely vacant and beneath the radar of anyone coming through the town.

Chad flipped open the trunk and bit his tongue. Sonny shook quietly in the open. Even though the air was cold, she was sweating around all sweat glands. Now that her clothing was wet with sweat, the air quickly cooled her off but did not stop once her body was comfortable again. Taking a deep breath, he quickly wrapped her with a blanket, pulled her into the backseat, then sat in the front for almost an hour with the heat running all around them.

Sonny slowly stopped shivering after a while and fell quiet.

"I see you finally gave up on your little act," Chad scoffed. "Did you really think I was that idiotic? I'm taking good care of you, Sonny, and you need to be thankful for that." Sonny did not respond. He turned around to see her fast asleep across the backseat. As he thought through the last hour, he was not even sure if she had ever awoken. Her eyes were closed when he dug her out and the two had sat in silence for the past hour. Had she ever awaken?

She was pale – even paler than before. Reaching back, he felt her forehead again – it was much hotter than before. Chad sighed. She had to be faking this, she just had to be. It was all an act to get him to take her home.

Boy though, she was one heck of an actress. He could see the distress in her face that she was able to exhibit. He was unsure of how she faked the fever, but she was doing a really good job at that. When she was shivering, it was almost as if her movements were truly involuntary. What amazed him the most, was how she had been able to drain all the color from her face without makeup or anything. But of course, she was just acting. Nothing more, nothing less.

***

"Hey, Zora," Tawni greeted her youngest costar the following morning.

"Hey, Tawni," Zora sighed as she slowly bounced an orange ball against the ground.

"I need someone to go shopping with me tonight and tell me how pretty I am in everything and hold my bags. Are you busy?"

"Not anymore," Zora threw the ball against the ground and caught it again.

"What's wrong?" Tawni looked over her shoulder at Zora.

"Sonny was going to take me to the premier of _Death of the Slaughter House Children: Revenge of the Middle Child: Don't Forget Me Mother_ tonight. We've had it planned for almost seven months."

"Does that movie have _two _subtitles?" Tawni cringed.

"What? There was already _Death of the Slaughter House Children: Revenge of the Middle Child_. It needed an addition."

"Aren't you a little young to see a rated R film?"

"That's why I need Sonny. The chickens with brains we call Nico and Grady are too afraid to even see _Bambi_, my parents are out of town, and no offense, but you weren't even an option."

"So…" Tawni looked at the ceiling with her eyes and wrung her hands together, "You don't want to go shopping with me?"

"Do you even care that she's gone?"

"Of course I do – you know I do. But after seeing what could happen, I just don't see any reason in worrying about it all the time. I mean, look at what the worrying is doing to Sonny's mom. Do you all want to see me looking like that? I think not!"

"Wow," Zora just stared Tawni down before turning to leave the prop room.

"Zora, wait!" Tawni ordered. Zora stopped momentarily to see what she wanted. "What time is this movie thing?"

"Are you serious?"

"Well, since no one wants to go shopping with me, I might as well."

***

Chad had shut off his car once the gas gauge was getting low. Sonny still had not opened her eyes, even though she had stopped shaking. Her fever was still present and her face as white as ashes, but she seemed to be sleeping more peacefully.

"How are you doing it?" Chad whispered through his hand as he watched her sleep. He sat on the edge of the driver's seat with his elbow resting on his knee and his mouth on his fist. "You cannot be this good of an actress. You can't." His mind reeled as he tried to think of how to get her to confess. "If you won't confess," he declared at last "I'll find someone who can prove it." Chad jumped from the car and brought Sonny back to the front seat. "Were you always so light?" Chad thought aloud, sure Sonny could not hear him. "Nah, I must be getting stronger. Being on the run must be doing me some good."

"Chad?" Sonny forced her eyes open once her body hit the passenger seat. She stared at Chad through the slits in her eyelids as he lifted her arms to buckle her seat belt. "What are you doing? Where are we going?"

"We're going back to Aiden's house," he declared.

"Why are we going back there? I thought you were trying to get away? Not go back. Are we going back?" She slowly became hopeful. Even with the surge of excitement, her eyes began too heavy to keep open. She closed her eyes but kept speaking with Chad.

"You wish," Chad smirked. "Sonny, I see through your act, and I'm going to prove that's all it is. Unless you want to stop it all now."

"Act?" Sonny was thoroughly confused. "Chad," she rested her head against his arm. "I don't feel so great. My head hurts, and it's really hot."

Chad grunted. First she was hot, then she was cold, and now she's hot _again_. Will she ever be thankful for what he does? He started the ignition and pulled away. The air conditioning was on again, but only on low. Chad was still cold from sitting in the car for almost an hour with the heat off, staring at Sonny sleeping. He could not believe they were going to drive all the way back to New Mexico. But he was going to call Sonny's bluff, even if he had to drive her all the way to Canada.

Thirteen long hours later, Chad finally saw the sign, 'Welcome To Santa Fe.' He sighed happiness and continued down the road to Aiden's house.

***

"Aiden, I'm not doing this!" an older female shouted. "You might not see what kind of trouble this could get you in, but I do! I'm not risking my future or my career for someone like _Chad Dylan Cooper_. There was a point in time when I thought he was a sweet little boy, but then he grew up. You know what, I'm reporting him to the authorities, and when he gets here, he's going to be arrested."

"Ari, come on!" Aiden begged. "If you rat him out, I'll tell mom and dad about that party you threw during your senior year of high school when they were visiting Grandma in the hospital."

"Aiden, I'm twenty-six years old and I just graduated from med school. What are they going to do to me? Ground me? I don't think so!"

"Think of it this way, you're not helping Chad. You're helping _Sonny Monroe_. Sonny Monroe! The most beautiful, talented, funniest, kindest, generous…" Aiden began to fade off as he thought about her.

"Aiden!" Ari snapped.

"Actress in the whole world – possibly ever," he quickly picked back up. "Plus, didn't you take some oath when you got into medical school? You know something about doing no harm and doing everything you can for the sick? Well, if you don't treat Sonny, sweet, innocent, harmless, committed, truthful, gorgeous, passionate…"

"Aiden!"

"Sonny, then she might just die! Then you'd be aiding and abetting a homicide. Not to mention the malpractice suits. I don't know of any practice that would take you on if in the first week of being a doctor, you kill someone."

"I can't be accused of anything if I'm not a part of it." Ari was cut off by the sound of a car pulling into their garage and a single set of feet rush up to their door. "I'm going to tell him to get lost. I'm not helping her get through some silly little cold. If he wants to help her, he'll take her back home." Ari marched to the door and quickly pulled it open with her finger pointed, ready to let Chad have it. But then she realized why she only heard a single set of footsteps as she looked down at the unconscious girl resting in the boy's arms.

Ari looked at Sonny's pale complexion and limp demeanor. Her dangling limbs, flooding over Chad's arms, told her Sonny was in trouble. Her position turned around completely and all she could concentrate on was saving the teen.

"Quick, take her up to my old room. Aiden, go get some towels and a bucket of water. I'm going to get my bag from the car. Don't leave her side!" Ari ordered. She was now in doctor-mode. She had adapted to these circumstances in medical school as well as during her internship and residency in the emergency room, but there she had equipment, there she had medicines, there she had superior doctors ready to take action. Now she only had two teenage boys who were dumb enough to think it was actually okay to kidnap someone.

Besides the lack of sufficient resources to treat a patient, the fact that the patient was a young girl made the whole thing worse. Ari could deal with children, adults, even senior citizens. Teenage boys were even easier for her to treat. But there was something about teenage girls which bothered her. She could see the future in their faces. Their first loves, their first heartbreaks, their first jobs, their first child, and their first true impacts on the world. Ari was terrified of taking the future away from these young women, and by Sonny's appearance, her future was becoming bleaker and bleaker by every passing second.


	6. Help Me!

**Heeeeeeeey! Sorry it's been a bit longer than I want. FF wouldn't let me update :P Enjoy!!!

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**"But, Ari," Chad stuttered, his own face blanching as he saw Ari begin to rush back and forth. "She's not sick. She's faking it." His voice was weak and he was speaking rather quietly – just above a whisper.

"Chad, come on, get her upstairs. I'll be up in a moment," Aiden urged, not taking his eyes off of his fantasy girl. To think she was only in his house nearly a week ago and even though she looked worn out then, it was nothing compared to the sight in front of him.

"Is that my clothing?" Ari scurried up the stairs, into her old bedroom, and stood in front of the weak girl.

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd mind. Chad needed some for her when they were here last and you haven't worn any of it for eight years. I don't even know why mom kept it, but I'm glad she did."

"Then why is the shirt soaked all the way through?"

"Well, she was sweating a lot last night. I guess from the fever she was able to concoct," Chad shrugged, still believing Sonny was putting on an act.

"Wait, you're telling me she's been this sick since last night?"

"Actually, she's been pulling it off since yesterday evening," Chad confessed. "I think it was about six o' clock. But wait, that would have been Central Time in Texas, so I think five o' clock here."

"But you've kept her in a soaking wet shirt all day while she's been sick?" Ari did not expect Chad to answer as she slipped a thermometer into Sonny's mouth. Sonny was unable to hold it on her own, so Ari had to hold it herself while taking Sonny's pulse. Once the thermometer rang, Ari's heart sunk. "It's one-hundred and two." She grabbed one of the rags in the bucket of water Aiden brought up and began to wipe Sonny's face down. The idea was to aid Sonny's body in cooling her off without having to use too much sweat which would cause Sonny to become even more dehydrated than she probably already was. "Can you guys step out for a moment?"

"Why?" Chad became defensive.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to let her make a run for it," Ari joked, knowing truly how sick Sonny was. "I just need to get her out of the wet clothing, and I don't think she would want you two to watch."

"Really?" Aiden sighed – what a perfect opportunity. "Because you know, you might need an extra set of hands in case…"

"Out!" Ari gestured to the door. Aiden stuck his tongue out at her, but followed her orders. She left Sonny's side for only a second to dig out a green, long-sleeved shirt and blue shorts. Throwing the damp clothing into the corner, she felt a little bit of satisfaction having gotten Sonny into dry clothing at last. Ari looked underneath Sonny's eyelids and determined she was borderline anemic. Her pale face suggested a possible Vitamin D deficiency which meant she could also be low on Calcium. When Ari pinched Sonny's hand, the skin did not return to its original position immediately. Ari determined Sonny was very dehydrated.

Quickly, Ari held a glass of water to Sonny's lips while holding her head up, trying to get her to drink slowly. But as soon as the liquid hit her throat, Sonny began choking and tried coughing the liquid out. Ari rested one hand on Sonny's stomach to get her abs to relax so she did not strain herself too much. Ari instantly felt the slight outline of Sonny's ribcage. Of course Sonny was a naturally skinny girl, but Chad was obviously not feeding her well enough.

Sonny forced her eyes open once her cough waned. She felt the hand on her abdomen and slowly raised one of her own hands over Ari's. "Who are you?" Sonny forced out.

"I'm someone who's going to help you," Ari assured, realizing how corny it sounded. She knew Sonny did not want silly information like that, she wanted her name.

"Are you a paramedic?"

"No, but I am a doctor. You're at my house. My little brother is Chad's friend, Aiden. I'm Ari."

"Chad – don't let him get in trouble," Sonny tightened her grip on Ari's hand. "It's not his fault."

"Sonny, can you drink any more water?" Ari chose to ignore her plea. She was furious at Chad for letting someone get this sick before finding help. Sonny nodded and was able to take small sips of the water without coughing again. Sonny's vision faded out as she drifted off into a state of semi-consciousness. The glass of water fell to the ground next to Ari's bed and shattered. The cold water splashed across the floor and seeped through the carpeting.

"What happened?" Chad burst through the door with Aiden right on his tail. He looked down at Ari kneeling as she picked up the larger pieces of broken glass. He turned his head to see Sonny with her arm hanging limp over the side of the bed.

"Aiden, go get me the vacuum," Ari ordered. "Chad, you need to stay back, there's probably glass all throughout the carpeting.

Chad walked to the edge of the bed where he was sure his feet were safe. He reached down and grabbed one of Sonny's ankles, shaking her roughly until her eyes popped open again. "Sonny, wake up. Now I've had enough of this. We're going." He pulled the bed covers away from her. Sonny's entire body cringed as she shifted into a fetal position, trying to use her own body heat as a replacement for the missing blanket.

"Chad!" Ari scolded.

"Ari, she's faking!" Chad pointed at Sonny while laughing slightly. "You're supposed to be a doctor; you're supposed to see that she's faking this."

Ari looked at the dark rings under Chad's eyes. "Chad, go into Aiden's room and get some sleep. You're extremely sleep deprived. You don't know what's really going on."

"What are you saying, Ari? Do you think I can't tell if someone is really sick?" His face was turning red as his own blood pumped hot through his veins.

Ari clenched her fists and dropped the last piece of large glass into the waste bin. She carefully lifted Sonny's torso and pulled her to the opposite end of the bed. She yanked the green shirt up and grabbed one of Chad's hands in one swift movement. She placed Chad's hand on Sonny's rib which was beginning to protrude from the skin. She forced his fingers to feel each rib along her one side. She pulled his hand to her face so he could see the visible difference in color between his tan hand and her ghostly, pale face.

"Chad, she's sick, and if you take her now, she's going to _die_. If you continue driving, you're going to get in an accident and you might just kill you both. I need to take care of her, Chad, but I need to focus. The quicker I can take care of her, the faster you two will be on your way and out of our house." She moved Sonny back to the top of the bed and recovered her with the blankets.

"Wait, so you're not going to try to keep her? You're not even going to try to convince me?"

"Chad, you and I need to sit down and have a serious talk just the two of us, but you need to be level-headed and I have to take care of Sonny first. Please, you know where Aiden's room is. Just go sleep for a little bit."

"How do I know you're not going to call the cops while I'm out?" Chad began to calm down. He was starting to grasp the concept that Sonny was truly sick. He stared at her lying on the bed, still in a fetal position beneath the covers, helpless and drained of life.

"Because, Chad, if I turn you in, then I have to admit that Aiden helped you before. I have to tell them that Aiden assisted you in kidnapping Sonny. I'm not going to let my little brother go down with you. Chad, you have my word. When you wake up, Sonny will still be here, and you will still be a fugitive."

***

"Aiden," Ari entered the kitchen where her little brother was sitting atop the counter. "I need to go to the hospital and get some medicine for her. When are mom and dad coming home?"

"They just called," Aiden stated, flipping a football in his hands. He had a baseball cap on his head, backwards, as if it were any other day. "Mom says Grandma's sick again, so they're rushing out to see her. They said they might be gone for three days. Can you believe they're not even going to come home to pack? What a stroke of luck!" He jumped off the counter. "Hey, do you think you can convince them to stay for a few days?"

"Why?" Ari grabbed her keys.

"So Sonny Monroe can get to know me a little better," Aiden smiled and held his football still in one hand.

"I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm stealing from the hospital. I can't believe I'm aiding a crime."

"You're not stealing from them. What's the difference between you giving Sonny those meds in the hospital and you giving them to here her? And look, just because I begged you, doesn't mean you absolutely had to help her. You could have said no."

"Aiden, if I didn't help her, then she was going to die – tonight. If I told Chad I was going to call the police, then he was going to take her away, and she was going to die – tonight. If I called the police without telling anyone, you'd be going to jail. And I'm sorry, but I don't want to be the one who tells mom and dad why you're in jail."

"It's always all about you, Ari, isn't it?"

"Aiden, just keep an eye on her while I'm gone. If anything starts happening, I want you to call me. You have my number right?"

"Duh. Wait, are you saying that _I_ get to watch over _Sonny Monroe_ while she sleeps. And because Chad's sleeping, we're pretty much _unsupervised_?" Aiden's face began to glow with excitement.

"Aiden, you listen very carefully. If _anything_ happens to her while I'm gone, you're dead. Understand?" Ari had the collar of his shirt between her fingers as he slowly nodded.

***

Aiden heard Ari's car leave the driveway as he crept into Sonny's room. He pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat on it backwards. He gazed at Sonny's perfection. Even in her current state, she still looked perfect, and that is because perfection cannot be corrupted or tainted.

He resisted the urge to reach out and touch her face, her hair, her lips. He sighed as she coughed but never woke up. Her image was missing something. Whether it was her smile, her eyes, or her laugher, she was not the same. Still perfect – but not the same.

After fifteen minutes of sitting there, he found the thermometer and slowly inserted it into her mouth and under her tongue. It had fallen to one-hundred point three. Aiden smiled, she was so good at getting better!

Sonny slowly began to open her eyes and stared at Aiden as he paced back and forth, as if he were waiting for something to happen.

"Aiden," she spoke softly. "Hi."

"Sonny!" Aiden jumped and rushed to her side. "How are you feeling? Are you okay? Can I get you anything? Anything at all? Well, Ari said I wasn't allowed to give you solids, but I can get you water. Are you cold? Are you hot? Do you want me to get you a new pillow? Are you in pain at all? Do you need me to call Ari? How many fingers am I holding up? Are you dizzy? Nauseous?"

"Aiden!" Sonny squealed silently. "I'm fine. I'm great, actually. You're sister is an amazing doctor. Can you just stay and talk for a while? I need interaction. I'm sick of being alone." She smiled at him, which made his heart skip a beat and then start being so fast, he had to sit down.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Aiden returned to sitting backwards in the chair and leaned forward on two of the chair's legs.

"Tell me about anything. What's going on in your life?"

"Wow, Sonny Monroe wants to talk to me about my life!" Aiden looked towards the ceiling, whispering prayers of thanks. Sonny laughed again. It was not the laugh he loved, more like a sudden exhale of breath, but she was happy. And when she was happy, he was too.

Aiden began telling her about the football game from the previous week. It had been against their school's rival team, they were tied 28 to 28 and there were only two seconds left on the clock. Aiden's team was on fourth down and only at the 45-yard line. Being the kicker, the coach forced him to go out. It had been a rough game, Aiden's team had not been ahead once during the whole thing, and everyone was thrilled they were just going to tie. Neither team wanted to go home losing. Aiden took his spot on the field as the ball was thrown to the spot. Taking a few steps as a running start, Aiden kicked the ball with all his might. Everyone held their breath as the ball flew through the air straight at the gap between the yellow markers. When the ball hit the ground, Aiden's eyes were closed. There was a dead silence. He opened his eyes as saw the two officials with their arms vertical. At once, everyone shouted with glee and the whole team dog-piled onto him.

"And the bus ride home from the game was insane!" Aiden threw his head back. When he looked back at Sonny, her eyes were closed. "What? Sonny, come on, wake up, you were just awake a minute ago! Sonny," Aiden shook her gently. She would not wake up again, though. He quickly picked up his phone and dialed Ari's number. "Hey, Ari, yeah, we may have a slight problem."

***

Sonny looked around. She found herself in a pure white t-shirt and white pants, with no shoes or socks. She felt good, much better than what she could remember. The air was clear and breathable. Her limbs were no longer sore. That certain dryness no longer coated her throat and the sting in her stomach was gone.

She found herself in a white land. There were no trees, no buildings, no anything – just a white floor that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. She twirled around in a circled, completely captivated by the strange land. The white, though, was slightly flawed by a small black speck. Without thinking, she ran to the speck. It slowly grew larger and she realized it was not completely black. The black speck was brightened by a familiar head of blonde hair. The blonde hair Sonny had yearned for ever since it was covered up by cheap dye.

"Chad," she whispered and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sonny?" He turned around, but remained seated. He looked horrible. His eyes were faded dark, he had lost an incredible amount of weight, and his jaw was clenched from too much stress. "Sonny, what are you doing here?" He turned back around so he was no longer staring at her.

"I came for you, Chad. I miss you." Sonny sat down next to him on the white floor and pulled her knees to her chest, mimicking him. "I really miss you."

"I need help, Sonny," Chad whispered.

"What do you mean?" Sonny looked at him worried.

"I need help," he repeated. Suddenly, some force began to pull him further away from her. She stood again and tried running after him.

"Chad! What do you mean?"

"I need help, Sonny!"

"Chad!" Sonny shouted as loud as she could. But the force was pulling him away too quickly.

"Help me, Sonny!" Chad let out one final plea before his black speck disappeared for good.


	7. Yellow and Blue Make Green

***sigh* I was so worried I wouldn't be able to get this out, even though I felt it bursting, ready to get down on "paper." But my wrist stopped bugging me and BAM. Out it came. Thank you so much for everyone's support in the story. I love you all!  
Enjoy!!!  


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**"Marshall, I thought we weren't getting paid until we can start filming again? What's with the check?" Nico held the small piece of paper in his hand. Everyone else had received one also, even though they had not made any plans to bring the show back.

"Sales are through the roof!" Marshall announced, jumping around excitedly. "Merchandise, season tickets, DVD's, iTunes downloads, and some are even paying us for 'emotional support.' I was able to completely replenish the prop fund and I split the remainder between you kids."

"Why would there be such an influx in profit though? I'd think people would be getting angry at us?"

"Are you kidding? Sonny's disappearance is the number one topic of any news company and all of the magazines are talking about it. People love Sonny and Chad together. It's like free advertising!"

"Yeah, and with the extra media, more people will know to keep their eyes open for her!" Nico declared. "You're putting money aside for her, right?"

"Of course. And look at this," he pulled a newspaper from his desk, "There's a group in Michigan who are going house to house, delivering missing flyers, making public service announcements, walking through all of the woods, and even threatening to barricade the Canadian border and search every car for her."

***

It was strange. Sonny woke up with the sun shining through the window and covering her body with a blanket of warmth. A bird sat outside the window on a tree branch, staring at her as she smiled back at it. Sonny's eyes were covered with sleep, but as she went to rub it away, she felt a foreign poke in her arm. Looking down, Sonny saw she was intricately hooked up to various IV's.

Lying back onto the pillow, she tried to remember the previous night's events. She was talking with Aiden about some football game he was a part of. She was enjoying his story, but she was becoming tired. She could not even remember the darkness of sleep consuming her. It must have happened quickly.

Sonny wondered where everyone was. Why wasn't Ari taking her temperature? Or where was Aiden with his obsessive staring? Why was Chad not trying to stick her back in the trunk or get back on the road? Maybe she was saved. Maybe Chad finally decided to give up and turn himself in. She just hoped her mother would stick to her word of not pressing any charges.

But all of Sonny's hopes shattered when Chad came creeping into her room and locked the door behind him. She closed her eyes, pretending she was still asleep.

Chad ran his fingers through his black hair and twisted his head around as if he were looking for something. His eyes scanned the tubes and needles spewing out from her arms. Chad sat down besides her on the bed and began twiddling his thumbs together.

"I'm sorry, Sonny," he sighed, believing she was still sleeping. His head was finally cleared with a full night of sleep. "I should have known. I can't believe I let you get this bad. I can't believe I kidnapped you. I can't believe this is happening to us."

Chad became silent for a long time. Sonny was not sure if he was thinking, tired, or scared. She considered for a moment opening her eyes and breaking her disguise, but the he continued speaking.

"I had this strange dream last night. It was horrible," he turned so he was facing her. "You were there, you looked good." He trailed his finger down the side of her thin face. "I was there to, except _I_…I looked horrible! But even stranger than me looking horrible, was what I was saying to you. I was asking you for help. I was almost demanding for help. What would I need help with? What would I need help with from you? Then I got pulled away from you, and all I could hear was you screaming for me to come back. I could feel the pain of being away from you, even though I could no longer see myself. The whole thing was atrocious."

"Did my hair look okay?" Sonny finally spoke up before he started talking about anything else.

"Sonny?" Chad fell down to the ground and pushed himself away from the bed. Quickly standing back to his feet and recomposing himself, he spoke softly, "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," Sonny smiled and relaxed into the bed. "What time is it?"

"I think it's going on noon. I just woke up myself."

"It's obvious you needed the sleep. So how long are we saying?" Her voice stung his heart. She was still under his control and they both knew it. He knew she had to go when he wanted.

"Well, Ari obviously still thinks you need some more time under her care. Aiden really likes you being here. Plus, their parents aren't going to be home for a while. I don't see a problem with us crashing here for a few nights. Maybe eat some real food for once. Get some real sleep. How are you feeling?"

"I'm terrific," Sonny insisted, even though her voice was weak and she could barely keep her eyes open for longer than a few minutes at a time.

"I'm going to call Ari to come check on you. Can I have her bring you anything? Is there anything you need?"

"I need to call my mom, Chad, _please_. I'm not asking you to take me home or even to talk with the authorities. I just need to tell her I'm safe and alive. Let me call her, let me call my mom."

"I'm sorry, I just can't let you do that."

"Why not?" Sonny's smile slowly faded away as the tension between them grew. Her eyes dug through him but she was not able to penetrate his stubbornness.

"Sonny, I said no," he walked to the door and opened it halfway. "I'm sorry." Chad left the room and a few minutes later, Ari returned. Sonny's fever had continued to fall over night and was sitting at a measly 99.5. Ari was so relieved Sonny was getting better, especially after the scare the night before.

***

_Flashback_

"Hey, Ari, yeah, we may have a slight problem," Aiden's voice spoke nonchalantly over the phone, but Ari could tell he was quivering on the inside.

"Aiden, what happened?"

"I don't know, I was telling her a story and the next thing I knew, she was asleep. I tried to get her to wake back up, because something just seemed wrong. At first I thought about just letting her sleep, because she's so beautiful when she sleeps. Not that's she's not beautiful when she's awake. You know, she's really pretty all of the time…"

"Aiden!" Ari shouted through the phone. "_What happened_?"

"So I tried to shake her awake, but she just won't wake up. Ari, what's wrong with her?"

"Okay, I have the stuff I need, and I'm coming home, but I need you to help me. Take her temperature again and check her pulse."

"I just took her temperature a few minutes ago. It was only one-hundred point three."

"Aiden, take her temperature again. And count the number of times her heart beats in thirty seconds."

"Oh god," Aiden mumbled over the phone.

"What?" Ari shrieked as she ran to her car.

"It's back up to one o' four."

"And her pulse?" Ari tried to control her emotions as if it were a normal case.

"Twenty-nine times. What does that mean?"

Ari quickly doubled the number in her head. "It's a bit low, but it's not horrible. Aiden, just keep checking her pulse as often as you can. Try to dab at her forehead with a wet rag to cool the fever. I'm going to keep you on the line until I get home. Can you handle the phone, the rag, and her pulse all at once?"

"I think so."

"Okay, just hold strong, little brother. I'm almost home."

_End Flashback_

***

"I heard what you were asking Chad," Ari whispered, fiddling with her IV bag and injecting another syringe of medicine into it. "I'm going to see that it happens."

"Ari, you don't have to," Sonny replied. "I don't want Chad to get mad at you. He might get angry and take me away."

"Sonny, I've seen the tapes of your mom begging to hear from you. I've seen how scared she is for you. As a fellow female, I can't let her continue to hurt. I did not have time to grab my cell for you – Chad was watching me too closely – but I'll get you a phone tonight while I'm running my shift at the hospital. I'd let you use the house phone, but…"

"But they can track it. And after everything you've done, I would not let you put yourself at risk. Thank you, Ari. It means so much."

"Just don't let either Chad or Aiden get wind of it, okay? I'll have to wake you up when they're asleep. But you may still have to worry about Chad rushing you off. Are you ready to make that sacrifice?"

"What do you mean?" Sonny's eyes continued to flutter.

"Haven't you heard? They reduced the search. They think you're probably dead, Sonny."

"What?" Sonny could feel small tears forming in her eyes.

"So a phone call from you would only tell them that you're still alive. They would have to rut their efforts back into finding you alive. It'll be broadcasted all over that your mom got the call and they were increasing the search again. Are you positive you want to call her?"

Sonny thought about it. She loved the bed she was in. She loved the little bird outside her window. She loved the smell of whatever was being made for lunch downstairs. She loved Ari's feminine touch and the ability she had to make all of her fears dissipate. She even loved Aiden's quirky personality. But she did not love make her mother worry. She did not love the pain it was causing everyone thinking she was dead.

"Yes, absolutely," Sonny nodded.

Ari could barely hear her weakened voice as she placed a hand upon Sonny's shoulder, "Go back to sleep, Sonny. You're still very weak."

"Do I get any of whatever it is downstairs that smells so amazing?"

"I'll bring some up when it's ready in a few hours. But you have to promise me you'll sleep until then."

"I think I can agree to that," Sonny finally let her eyes shut and did not struggle to reopen them.

Ari finished a few more tasks with Sonny's IV's and left the room, closing the door extra softly.

"How is she?" Chad appeared right behind Ari in the hallway.

"Chad, just the person I wanted to see," Ari wrapped her arm around his shoulder and led him down the stairway. "It's time we have that little chat, just the two of us to have that little chat between the two of us."

"Do we really have to _now_?" Chad tried to pull back.

"Yes, unless you'd rather have it in front of the entire Santa Fe police squad later."

"I think now is good," Chad submitted and followed her into the family room and sat on the sofa next to her. "I know what you're going to say, Ari."

"You do, do you?" Ari raised an eyebrow. "Then why don't you tell me."

"You're going to tell me that I need to let her go. You're going to say I should leave her with you and just move on alone. I know you're not going to try to convince me to turn myself in, but you'll say Sonny really needs some extended care and I am not capable of taking care of her myself. You'll kick in with the guilt trip about how her mother feels and the pain everyone back home is experiencing. Then I'm going to have to hear about how they want to drop the charges if I just return home, so I really have nothing to worry about. When none of that works, you'll play to my better side by patronizing me. Telling me I'm too smart of a kid to be ruining my life. I get it, Ari, okay?"

"You sure know a lot, Chad Dylan Cooper."

"Trust me; I've heard it all before."

"From who? Who else have you been interfacing with?"

"No one, it's all coming from up here," Chad pointed at his head. "When you're driving all day, every day, with no one but yourself to keep you company, you start to talk with yourself. I must have told myself all of those things a thousand times."

"So listen to your own conscious, Chad. See, you are smart enough to know how to fix this, why don't you?"

"Because, Ari. I'm confused."

"No, Chad. You understand everything crystal clear. You're not confused at all. You're just a scared little boy who's too afraid to stand up for what he did. A little boy who doesn't want to say he's sorry. Jump down from your golden pedestal, Chad Dylan Cooper. You are no better than anyone else. You're either going to get caught, or you can handle this like a mature young man. You choose." Ari stood and marched away leaving Chad speechless.

Chad let his jaw drop. He had forgotten that people were even allowed to talk to him in such a fashion.

***

"Hello?" Connie opened the door.

"Connie," Marshall smiled, seeing she looked better than in the previous days he had come to see her. "How are you today? Are you getting any more sleep?"

"Hello, Marshall. It's a struggle, but my doctor has allowed me to start taking a sleeping pill before bed. He said he was worried about me not getting any sleep during the time. It seems unfair though, how a silly little pill can cure my problems, but my little girl is out there somewhere without any help at all."

Marshall nodded and bit his tongue. He worried about Connie starting sleeping pills. He knew they would probably work the first few nights, and help her get some much needed sleep. But after a few nights, Connie would start to expect them to drown her out of the daytime fear. She might take a second, and that would work. But eventually it would not. Being a Hollywood veteran, he had seen sleeping pills take too many people's dignity. But he would never say something to her. It was not right for him.

"I'm sorry, Marshall, come on in. You don't have to stand in the doorway forever. What can I help you with?"

"I brought a paycheck for Sonny. We've received quite a bit of money through sales and donations. I was able to pay everyone a bonus today. I wanted to give you hers, just so the money is not sitting around."

"Thank you, Marshall. Would you like to join me for dinner? All of the neighbors have been bringing over dishes and dishes of food. There's no way I'll be able to eat it all."

"Sure, I can stay for a little while. What's that?" Marshall pointed to two stacks of envelopes on the coffee table.

"Oh, that's fan mail for Sonny and me."

"They didn't mail it to the studios?" Marshall scratched his head. "I mean, we have been getting quite a bit of fan mail for Sonny, but still, do you normally get fan mail at home?"

"No, but the letters I have received are so sweet. Would you mind if I read you one?"

"Please," Marshall insisted.

Connie picked one up from the table, "'Dear Mrs. Monroe. Please stay strong. I want you to know that me and my entire third grade class are going to do everything we can to find Sonny for you. We love Sonny so much! She is everyone's favorite on _So Random_. On Monday, we have a field trip to the city's police department to learn about the law. My friends and I have collected thirty-two dollars, and we think it should be enough to pay the police officers to find Sonny. It's going to work, I just know it will. When she comes home, can you tell her I said hi? From Caitlin in New York City.'"

"That's so sweet. Are all the rest like that?"

"Most are from other mothers, some are from teens and tweens, and only a few are from little kids like Caitlin. I haven't opened any of Sonny's but I just pray that one day she and I will be able to sit and read through them together. I miss her Marshall. I need my little girl back. I need to be able to wrap my arms around her, cover her in sun block, scold her about her grades, and tell her how proud I am of her. I need to be able to do everything a mother is supposed to do. I feel like I'm failing her right now. I don't know what I can do."

"Stay healthy. When they find her, Connie, and they _will_ find her, she's going to need you there with her. We have no idea what kind of emotional, mental condition she'll return in. But I promise you, she'll come home."

***

Around four in the morning, Sonny was gently nudged awake by a soft, friendly hand. "Sonny, wake up, but be quiet. It's time for you to make the call," Ari explained and helped her to sit up in the bed.

Sonny yawned. She had only been awake for a half-hour for dinner and then went immediately back to sleep, and had been sleeping since. Ari promised her she'd be able to leave the bed the following day, but right now, the soft mattress was a welcoming comfort.

"I have the volume in the microphone turned up on high, so all you have to do is whisper, and your mom should be able to hear you loud and clear. Just be careful, you know Chad's asleep right next door." Ari handed Sonny the new cell phone. It was the type of phone where you buy a specific amount of minutes, and then when those minutes run out, you go and buy more minutes. They were practically untraceable since the actual cell phone could be bought at almost any drugstore, and there was little set up involved.

Instead of grabbing the phone immediately, Sonny held onto Ari's hand and looked up to meet her eyes, "Thank you. Thank you so much." Ari smiled and nodded back at her. Sonny quickly dialed her home number on the cell and put it up to her ear. Each ring she heard got her heart beating faster and faster until she could barely withstand the pressure in her chest. "She didn't pick up," Sonny cried.

"Go ahead and try again. She was probably sleeping and couldn't get to the phone in time. Call again."

This time, after only two rings, a voice which made Sonny want to break down with joy took over the speaker. "Hello, Monroe residence. This is Connie."


	8. The Call

**Dedicated to the memory of a very special alumna. 1991 - 2009. You will always be in our memory. Thank you for what you gave to this earth**

***had to republish due to computer error*  
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"Mom?" Sonny's voice faltered. When her mother did not reply right away, she pushed it out, "It's me, it's Sonny."

"Look, whoever this is, just hang up now. You people make me sick. I am so tired of getting these prank calls. Why can't you just leave me and my family alone? If you're not going to help our cause, then it's best if you just stay out of our lives."

"No, Mom, it's me. It's really me. I'm so sorry I put you through this. I'm so sorry."

Connie heard the sorrow in the voice through the phone and she knew only her daughter would blame herself for something completely out of her hands. When she spoke again, her voice was just as weak as her daughter's, "Sonny? Sonny, is it really you? This can't be true, how are you calling me? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, I got a little sick the other night, but I've been taken care of. I can't talk long, I'm not supposed to be on the phone, but I just had to call. I've seen the reports on the television, and I couldn't let you go on thinking I was dead. I couldn't let you give up hope." Sonny's voice cracked as she tried her best to hold in her emotions.

"I never gave up hope, baby, never. Sonny, where are you? Who has you? What can I do to bring you home?"

Sonny paused, she had not expected her mother to ask her those questions, and she did not know if she was prepared to share. She still wanted to return home with Chad and have the two of them continue on with their normal, everyday lives.

"Sonny? Are you okay?" Mrs. Monroe suddenly panicked. What if Sonny's captor was sitting right there? What if this was some ploy to get ransom money or even toy with her mind. What if she was putting Sonny in danger by asking her these questions? "Sonny, never mind, it's okay. You don't have to answer if you'd be risking your safety. I just love you so much, don't give up on me, Sonny, I'll bring you home."

"Mom," Sonny interrupted, prepared to divulge everything, but suddenly broke out into a massive coughing spell. Ari gasped as Sonny dropped the phone on the bed and heard Chad shifting around his room, ready to come over.

Connie was shouting through the speaker, "Sonny! Sonny! What's wrong? Sonny come back! Baby girl come back!"

Ari quickly picked up the phone and whispered, "Mrs. Monroe, Sonny is going to be okay. I have to let you go now, but I'll find her another chance to call. I'm sorry." She quickly snapped the phone shut and began attending to Sonny as Chad barged into the room.

"What's going on? Who were you talking to?" he grunted.

"She's coughing Chad, it's what happens when someone is allowed to get so sickly. And unless you want to donate some of the hot air from your head, you need to leave; she needs as much air as she can get. Out!" Ari ordered, trying to get Sonny to put her hands on her head to expand her lungs. Chad lingered for a moment, watching Sonny choke on whatever was clogging her lungs, and then finally decided to return to his room.

An eternity later, Sonny finally felt her chest clear, and she fell back onto the pillow, weakened tremendously from the trauma.

Ari ran her hand over Sonny's forehead, trying to remove some of the sweat which had formed since the episode. She helped Sonny to lift her head so she could get a quick sip of water before Ari allowed her to return to sleep.

"That did not go how I thought it would," Ari sat on the sofa in the living room staring at the cell phone in her hands. With Sonny using her bed, Chad using Aiden's bed, and Aiden using their parent's bed, Ari was left to use the sofa as the only resort, but compared to her years as a resident, she was just glad to be getting sleep more regularly.

She moaned, knowing what she had to do. Opening the phone, Ari hit the redial button and waited for someone to answer.

"Sonny?" a desperate voice picked up.

"Mrs. Monroe?" Ari was unsure if she should disguise her voice or not, so she just continued to whisper.

"Who is this?" Connie seethed. "Please, I'm not going to threaten you or tell you what I'll do if I find out you hurt my Sonny. All I can do is beg you to bring her home. I'm only a mother, and I can't do much for her right now. I'll do anything. Anything you want, it's yours. Just bring my baby home!"

"Mrs. Monroe," Ari finally spoke again, "I am not Sonny's captor. Sonny got quite sick a couple nights ago, and the person who took her brought her to me to take care of her. For her own safety, I cannot bring her home to you, or tell you where we are. But I recognize how important it is for you to know that she's safe. I understand how hard that is to comprehend, but it's the truth."

"I thought Sonny said she only got a _little_ sick. And what happened? What did you do to her a while ago? Were you choking her for me asking her those questions? I'm sorry; I'm only a mother who's scared to death for her. Please, don't punish her for what I was asking!"

"No, no one was choking her – I promise. Sonny did not want you to worry about how sick she got. It was scary for a little while, but we've been able to bring her systems under control and she is going to be perfectly fine. There is nothing to worry about, Mrs. Monroe. She had a coughing spasm, and it took a long time to bring it under control. But she is all better and sleeping soundly right now. I would let you talk to her again, but she really needs her sleep."

"Do you know when she's coming home?"

"No, I'm sorry. But I'm working on getting her home to you, Mrs. Monroe. I am so sorry this is happening to your family. Please forgive me for my part in this. I need to go. We'll be in touch," Ari shut the phone before Connie's words could break her heart any further. Suddenly, Ari looked at the counter and found the medication she had forgotten to take to Sonny earlier that evening.

She grabbed the syringe and slowly ascended the staircase one more time. When she reached her own bedroom door, she looked down the hallway and saw Chad's door open, and when she reached for her doorknob, she found it locked.

***

Connie sat in the kitchen, shaking slightly from the phone call. She did not know who to call, so she called everyone. Tawni, Nico, Grady, Zora, Marshall, and the police. She tried calling a few neighbors, but no one would pick up that time of morning.

The lights filled her apartment as one by one, everyone entered. The police officers were thoroughly interrogating her about every detail of the two calls. She said the number was blocked, so she could not see where it was coming from, but the police said they would get to checking the phone records.

Marshall sat off to the side, pitying Connie as she had to tell the same story to five different police officers, and each and every one making her feel like a bad mother for not getting more information or remembering anything else.

Zora was not able to come due to the early morning time, but Grady, Tawni, and Nico had rushed right over to the Monroe's apartment and also stared at Connie's interrogation from across the room.

Marshall began to brew a pot of coffee and Grady volunteered to run out and buy bagels and doughnuts for everyone. Tawni and Nico sat at the kitchen table, unable to do much more of anything else. Nico tried to make small talk every once in a while, but the two finally decided silence was best.

The Monroe's phone was bugged and wired so if another call came in, they would be able to track the number and location. When Grady returned with breakfast, the sun was coming up over the horizon, and the police were concluding their report.

***

Chad stared at Sonny sleeping while Ari jiggled the handle and shouted for him to open it. He felt horrible about what he had put her through. Her pale, thin face was the only sign anyone should need to understand he was not taking good care of her, but he could not let himself believe that there was anything he could have done to prevent this. She was simply caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, and the series of events which followed were unfortunate and destructive, but he could not see it playing out any differently.

"Chad, open this door right now," Ari ordered, trying to hide the anxiety in her voice.

He walked over to the edge of the bed and began to study her features. Even though she was exhausted, her body tense, as if she would not allow herself to completely relax. He noticed how weak she looked after the coughing fit she had experienced only a few minutes before. Making sure to use extreme caution, he ran a finger down her face, only causing her to shiver and shrink further underneath the covers.

"Chad, open the door!" Ari pounded as hard as she could, trying to get through to him.

"Chad?" Sonny finally awoke with the noise. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"We need to leave," Chad declared.

"What? Why?" Sonny's entire body began to shake at the thought of going back. She still felt so weak, and she had prayed they would be able to stay a little bit longer. "Chad, please, not yet. We still have time."

"We need to leave, Sonny."

"Chad, can you please just wait until the morning. Go back, get a little more sleep, and if you still want to leave then, I will go without a fight. Please?"

"Sonny, we leave when I say it's time to leave. You don't get a say in this!"

"Chad, I know, but I'm asking you as a friend. It is still your choice whether we go now or we get a little more sleep." Sonny paused and closed her eyes for a moment, almost falling back to sleep.

"Sonny," Chad refused to let her go back until they had finished their discussing.

"Chad, I'm so tired."

"You can sleep in the car."

"Chad, please," her voice quivered.

"Chad Dylan Cooper! Open the door!" Ari was heard again.

"Fine, but in the morning, we're leaving, understand?" Sonny nodded and quickly closed her eyes as Chad walked out.

"What's wrong with you?" Ari reprimanded him.

"Look, if you want to help her, you better make it quick," Chad hinted before returning to his room for a few more hours of sleep before they left.

***

Chad was awakened later that morning by a tremendous crash of thunder. He tumbled over the side of the bed as the entire house was shaken. Looking outside, he saw one of the largest thunderstorms he had ever seen reach the New Mexico area. He did not want to go out in the weather, but perhaps it would give them better cover.

Another strike of thunder shook the house, but it was quickly followed up by laughter coming from the family room. At first Chad thought it was Ari laughing, but he found it was too recognizable for Ari.

Skipping down the stairs, Chad spun around to see Sonny and Aiden curled up on the sofa together playing a video game. Sonny was completely wrapped in a puffy white blanket, with only her IV tubes streaming out of it. Aiden sat closely next to her in just a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt.

"You're going down, Aiden," Sonny challenged.

"Oh yeah, because I'm getting taken down by a girl!" he retorted.

"Yes, but Aiden, it's not just any girl. It's _Sonny Monroe_!" Sonny set her head against his shoulder and allowed her hair to touch his face, causing his entire nervous system to go haywire and freeze. She quickly used the moment of distraction to beat his player and win the game. "Yes! Take that!" she laughed. "What is that now, three to zero? I win!"

"Let's do best out of ten."

"Come on, first it was only one, then it was best of three, then it was first to three. Aiden, you lost," Sonny declared. "But if you wanted to do first to five, I'd be game."

"Sonny," Chad announced his presence.

"Oh, Chad," Sonny's smile quickly transformed into a frown. She was terrified he was going to yank her away. After all, who knew an obsessed fan could actually be fun to hang out with.

"Hey, Chad, breakfast is on the counter. I'd microwave it if I were you, though," Aiden suggested. He had been asleep through the whole night and had no idea what Chad had planned. "It's probably cold by now."

"So, Chad, what's going on today?" Sonny tried to ask nonchalantly. "What are your plans?"

Chad stared out the window as the rain continued to pour down against the clear piece of glass. "Um, you know, it's kind of rainy, let's just wait through the storm. Then we're going."

"What? You're going again? But you just got here!" Aiden protested, making his arm slide inconspicuously behind Sonny's shoulders.

"Aiden, you knew we had to leave eventually. I told you this was only for a little while."

"But Ari said Sonny still needs time to get better."

"Where _is_ your sister?" Chad looked around.

"She took the dog out about an hour ago. I'm guessing she was pretty far away when it started raining."

"I didn't know you had a dog?" Sonny turned to Aiden.

"Well, he was at the vet's the first time you were here and Ari would not let him near you while you were sick."

The three kids heard a rumble at the door and all of a sudden, Sonny was being playfully attacked by a large, wet black lab.

"Mickey, get off of her! Sorry, Sonny," an equally wet Ari tried pulling the dog off of Sonny which required all of the strength she had.

Once Ari had Mickey under control and locked away to dry off, she approached Sonny with a bottle of lotion in her hand.

"I've been meaning to get you this for the past couple of days you've been here," she reached out, grabbed one of Sonny's hands, and pushed the sleeve of her shirt up. "I just kept getting sidetracked by so many things." Squirting a glob of the white lotion into her hand, Ari began to massage it around Sonny's wrist. At first she grimaced at Ari and the chemicals making contact with the raw, red circles – caused by the extended exposure to the duct tape – around her wrists. But after only a few moments, the lotion began to soothe and cool her skin and the pain which seemed to persist there dissipated. Ari moved on to the other wrist once the liquid had been fully absorbed by her skin on the one arm. Sonny felt the same initial pain, but it quickly faded into a pleasurable feeling after a moment. Kneeling down, Ari motioned for Sonny to stick her legs out from under the blanket as she reached to do the same act to both of her ankles.

Chad turned away towards the food on the counter. He did not want to see the bright red rings around Sonny's extremities. He did not want to think about the way she would drop her face as he placed her in the trunk again later that day. He did not want to imagine Ari and Aiden standing side by side, shunning him as he wrapped her up with duct tape once again and slid the bandana around her face to prevent her from calling out for help. But he was thinking about it, and he could not stop.

"Thank you, Ari," Sonny slid her feet back into the blanket. "That feels so much better."

"Whoa, let me see that," Aiden grabbed one of Sonny's hands and trailed over one of the circles. Are you okay? I didn't see those!"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just have sensitive skin, I guess. Don't worry about too much, though. I'm just glad Ari was able to help me to get rid of whatever was making me sick."

"Well, you're not out of the woods yet, Sonny. I'm still worried about you. You're immune system is weak, you're still vitamin and mineral deficient, and you're a bit underweight."

"Underweight? What are you talking about Ari? I mean, I know I've lost a little weight, but I'm not _under_weight."

"Did you hear Chad wants to leave?" Aiden leaked.

"What?" Ari spun around, ready to throttle Chad.

"Look," Chad pointed at Ari, "You both knew we were only staying until she got better and besides, your parents are going to be home soon. I don't want to be here when they return."

"But, Chad, she's not better yet," Ari said soberly. "If she was, I wouldn't have her still hooked up to an IV, eating foods only jam-packed with nutrients, or buried beneath the warmest blanket we have."

"Well, we still can't be here when your parents return."

"They actually called while Ari was out. They won't be back until tomorrow night. That still gives you like thirty-six hours," Aiden explained.

"Stop!" Chad flipped. "I am still in charge of the situation here! When the storm lets up, we're going!" Chad shouted and marched over to the chair next to the sofa. "End of conversation." A tense quietness fell over the room. Chad sat brooding, while Ari shot Sonny apologetic glances. They all knew Chad was the only one who was going to determine how the next few hours was going to play out.

"Hey, Aiden," Sonny smiled, trying to expel some of the tension.

"Yes, Sonny?" he inhaled, gazing into her beautiful, perfect brown ones.

"You can let go of my hand now."


	9. Choked For Words

**I have no idea when I found the time this week to write this, but it was on my computer so now I'm putting it on yours!!! Thank you for reading! By the way, I split a tendon in my wrist and sometimes it's really painful to type so until I get it fixed, updates might be a bit slower. If Chad seems a wee bit OOC at the end of the chapter, it will be explained in the following chapter. Remember to be happy, be healthy, and say :D I hope you all enjoy!!!

* * *

**

Connie sat on her bed, clutching her head. The _So Random_ DVD was playing on her television, but she struggled to focus on it. Although the woman on the other end of the phone had promised she had not tried to strangle Sonny while they were talking, Mrs. Monroe could not get the gruesome image out of her head. Fingers wrapping around her daughter's throat, squeezing harder and harder until Sonny was forced to drop the phone from her hands, but not before squeaking out her name. She imagined the pressure building up inside her daughter's head as her lips began to turn blue, slowly being deprived of oxygen. As the person released her grasp to take up the phone herself, Sonny started coughing, trying desperately to catch her breath.

But the woman had assured her Sonny was not being choked. The woman said she was taking care of Sonny, but how could she trust anyone who knew where Sonny was and did not try to help her?

Connie cursed herself for her own foolishness. During the one press conference, she had said that she would not press charges if Sonny was returned unharmed. What if Sonny had already been harmed and the person was afraid to bring her home? Why did she have to throw in that one little condition? It was more of her own hope anyway and not an addendum. There were too many what-if's. She was sick and tired of what if's.

***

Chad stared out the window as the rain continued to fall. It was by far the longest storm he had to sit through. It had been several hours, and the storm had not lightened once.

He looked over and saw Sonny's head resting on Aiden's shoulder. She was not trying to lead him on, but she was quickly becoming drowsy again and she had nowhere else to rest her head.

Ari sat in the kitchen watching the three teens watch a movie. She wanted Sonny back in bed, but Chad had refused, saying any moment they would be leaving. Chad had said it for the first time five hours ago. She had never seen a storm persist for so long in their area, but she was quite thankful for it.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was pulled to the television as the program stopped and a breaking news report captured the screen.

"You're regularly scheduled motion picture will return in a moment. Breaking news has come out today from the LAPD. Right as the case of the missing teen star, Sonny Monroe, had gone cold, her mother, Connie Monroe, received two phone calls early this morning. The first was from Sonny herself, and the second from a mysterious woman who claimed to be helping Sonny through a serious sickness. Police are struggling to track down the phone number, due to the type of wireless phone which was used to make both calls. They were, however, able to determine the phone was purchased somewhere in the Santa Fe area. As we get more information regarding this shocking story and other local news, it will be posted on our website…"

Sonny, now fully awake, looked over to Chad whose face was beat red and staring her down.

"Sonny," he snarled and stood up, towering over her once he got close enough with his fists clenched.

"Hey!" both Aiden and Ari shouted at once. Aiden got between Sonny and Chad and pushed Chad a few steps back. Ari came and sat next to Sonny, wrapping her arms around the small girl, incase Chad decided to get even angrier.

"Come on, dude, it's not worth it," Aiden warned.

"We have to go, now," Chad determined, know there would be cops searching the area within a few hours.

Sonny nodded softly and held out her arm for Ari to remove the IV needle from her vein. Ari just stared between her and Chad. She knew it would happen if Chad had ever caught wind of what happened, but she did not expect it to hurt so badly.

"Chad, please, don't take her," Aiden begged, rubbing his shoulder where Sonny had placed her head. He could smell his sister's shampoo all over his shirt now, but knew it was put there by Sonny's hair, which made it precious.

"I'm sorry, Aiden, I wish I didn't have to, but she's left me no choice. She made that call and now the police are going to be all throughout the city looking for us. We have to go."

Sonny put her hand out, asking for Chad's help to stand. He grabbed the hand and yanked her to her feet.

"Aiden, go get some more of my clothing. Chad, let me give you guys some food to take with you."

"Ari, we really don't have time for this."

"Chad, please, I'm not trying to stop you. Just let me give you some bare necessities to prevent her from getting this bad again. She needs to be fed at least twice a day and drink at least three bottles of water per day, or else you're going to end up right back here. And we might not be able to save her a second time."

"Fine, just make it quick, I'm taking her to the car," Chad declared. Sonny held on to Chad's shirt for extra support. Aiden was nice to sleep on, he was so encouraging, but Chad is where she found her real safety. Right there next to him. Not in the trunk, or in the passenger's seat, or in the bed, but in his arms.

He wrapped an arm around her and led her to the garage. Sonny swallowed the lump in her throat when she made eye contact with the navy blue car – the prison she had managed to get out of for the last few days. Even if those days were only a fuzzy memory, she already missed the memory of Ari's cozy bed.

Chad grabbed the keys from his pocket and popped the trunk open. Inside the trunk sat the bandana, the blanket, and the silver roll of duct tape. Chad gently pulled Sonny's arms around her back and loosely wrapped a thin layer of the tape around her wrists. He motioned for her to sit down and she instantly obeyed, knowing she had little choice. Chad kneeled down to wrap her ankles, similarly to how Ari did when she was rubbing the lotion into her skin. But this was so different. Ari tried to make it better, Chad was making things worse. Ari's hands were delicate and gentle; Chad's were rough and aggressive. And for some sick reason, Ari's actions made her feel guilty and self-conscious, while Chad's made her feel protected and cared for.

Sonny swung her legs around so she was now completely in the trunk. At that time, Ari came rushing through the door with a large bag of groceries.

"Chad, can I just say goodbye to her?" Ari begged.

"Fine, just hurry, I don't want Aiden coming out and see her in there. He might freak."

Ari nodded and quickly rushed around the car to where Sonny was. She ignored the young girl's bound limbs, because she knew she could do nothing to stop them at that moment. Without further hesitation, Ari engulfed Sonny in a hug and put her lips next to her ear.

"Here's the phone," she slid the cell phone over the elastic waistband of the new pair of shorts and under the new, red shirt Sonny had put on that morning. "I set the police to speed dial one, your mother to speed dial two, and I'm speed dial three. Whether or not you use it, it is best that you have it. Call me the moment you suspect you're getting sick again. Chad is less likely to bring you back, don't risk it, not for him."

"All right, that's enough," Chad determined, pulling Ari away. "We have to go."

"Okay, okay, I'm going to get the clothing from Aiden. Goodbye, Sonny," Ari looked forlornly at her. Sonny smiled back, and if Ari did not know how good of an actress Sonny was, she would have believed it.

The moment Ari left, Chad seized the bandana in his hand and wrapped it around her mouth. As soon as he finished tying off the ends behind her hair, Sonny lay down in the trunk, feeling the cell phone dig into her skin. Chad covered her with the blanket, brushed the hair flowing down her face, and lifted her chin so her eyes met his.

"I'm sorry, Sonny. You shouldn't have made the call. I'm sorry." As soon as he finished the sentence, he slammed the trunk shut and locked her in the darkness once again.

"Chad!" Aiden bounded from the doorway. "Am I too late?"

"Sorry, Aiden, you are. Thanks for getting the clothing, though," Chad grabbed the shirts, shorts, and pants from him. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah, definitely. Take care of her. Maybe come and visits once all of this blows over."

"Sure, anything for you, man." Chad began to walk off to the driver's seat.

"And Chad!" Aiden called out, preventing Chad from hitting the ignition.

"What?"

"Last time, you promised you weren't going to hurt her. You did not hurt her directly, but she was in a serious condition. Don't neglect her the same way. You have the most precious life on this earth in your hands. Remember that."

Chad nodded and closed the door. "Trust me, Aiden, I know," Chad muttered to himself. Using caution, Chad backed out of the garage and slowly into the rain. Perhaps the rain was a blessing to him as well. Perhaps it would keep the police from seeing them. Perhaps it was the perfect cover to keep them both out of trouble.

Sonny lay quietly in the dark. Her part of the car was the first to hit the rain. The sound of the water droplets were deafening as the tin sound reverberated through her ears. Her jaw was shaking softly, as if she were cold. It was horrible having to submit to the treatment. She was forced to sit there, quietly, with a smile etched into her face as she was bound and gagged. She did not put up a fight, and she thought there may have been a slight possibility that she would have gotten away if she had.

Sonny bit down into bandana, hindering a scream. She wanted to hate Chad. Nothing would have made her happier than to hold a never-ending grudge against the black-haired boy. But no matter what she wanted to feel, she knew there was a scared, blonde boy buried beneath the disguise. But she was scared too! She was terrified she was going to get sick again, really sick. Ari already said she was not ready to go back, yet here she was, bound and gagged in the trunk of a car. She felt the phone in her back, but refused to use it. Not only was she a prisoner to Chad, she was a prisoner to her own beliefs. She hated it. She deserved to be where she was. She screwed up. She thought it was all about herself. If only she had been able to fight the temptation of calling her mom. Chad did not trust her any longer and they were right back where they were before. How could she be so stupid?

***

Chad focused intently on the road in front of him, as well as his surroundings. He knew that if he flipped the car, got rear ended, or was t-boned by anyone, Sonny was as good as dead. His mission was not to kill her. It was…it was…well, he did not know what his mission was. But whatever it was, it was not to get the innocent girl in his trunk killed.

The storm was gaining strength and Chad was having a harder time seeing the road in front of him. Traffic on the freeway had slowed down to barely moving at all. Chad was not the only one who was worried about the weather conditions. This was exactly why he wanted to wait until the storm cleared, but of course _she_ had to go and screw everything up. They would still be safe at Aiden's house, curled up on the sofa, eating warm foods, and with their friends. But that was not enough for her. No, she had to go and alert the entire world that she was still alive.

Suddenly, Chad saw red flashing lights in front of him and he was forced to come to a stop. A police officer in front of him came over holding his hand out and gestured for Chad to roll down his window.

"Is there a problem officer?" Chad questioned, wearing the thick, black glasses and reaching for his fake ID.

"The road ahead is completely washed out. We haven't had this much rain in God knows how long. You must have missed the detour sign back there. If you take the road about half a mile down, there's a road that will take you around this section." Chad began to relax a bit when the police officer began to walk away, but his heart stopped when the police officer backtracked and returned to Chad's window. "Just for safety measures, can I see your license and registration?"

"Sure," Chad said calmly. He reached down and pulled out the fake information Justin had made up for him.

"Garret Peterson?" the police officer raised a brow.

"Yes, sir."

"I knew someone named Garret Peters once. He was actually my best friend throughout high school. But then he went into the military and was killed in the war serving our country. He was a great person."

"Well, there's no relation, but I know how it must have felt. My older brother was shot in Iraq. He didn't die, but he's going through extensive therapy, and his head, it's just not right," Chad lied. He knew exactly how to sweet talk any person at any time.

The officer eyed over the official documents once more, then handed them back to Chad. "Well, I'll let you get going then. It's somewhat of a long detour. Tell your family I am very sorry for what happened to your brother."

"I will, and thank you, officer, for everything you're doing tonight. Only real men like you would stand out in the rain to keep people like me safe. You're an inspiration to everyone. Have a good night, officer."

"You too, son, and drive carefully! It's a mess out there."

Chad turned the car around and maneuvered his way through the confusing detour. When the sun began to set a few hours later, Chad realized the rain was finally letting up. He was glad, because he was en route to a certain destination near Oklahoma City, and he did not want to stop until he got there.

***

Sonny was relieved when the rain officially stopped. Her ears were still ringing from the deafening noise, but there was enough quietness for her to finally drift off to sleep. She welcomed the peace to overtake her. It scared her how the trunk seemed to be so comfortable as she lay there. It was like her own little cocoon which protected her. She could control what happened inside the trunk. But once the top was opened and she was pulled out, she was powerless.

***

Almost nine hours later, Chad pulled the car into an empty church parking lot. Most churches that time of the night would be closed, but not Father Ron's church. Chad knew that Father Ron always left the church building unlocked, because he knew it was a place for people to seek refuge during their darkest hours. And dark hours did not always come during convenient business hours.

"Sonny, come on, I need to talk with someone, and you're coming with me," Chad ripped the tape off of Sonny, causing her to shriek and tears form in her eyes. He lifted her out and forced her to walk into the church with him right behind her. She stared all around, but seeing no one there. "Hey, just stay here and don't…move," Chad warned, not wanting to have to tie her down in the Lord's House.

"Hello, how may I help you tonight?" Father Ron walked out from a bad room and lit a candle for more light. "Chad, it's good to see you again."

"You recognize me?" Chad stood back frightened.

"I hoped you would come. I knew you would be the one who I did not recognize."

"Father, I need to confess."

"Then follow me, my son." Chad and the priest walked into the confessional, leaving Sonny sitting in the pew all alone. She knew that she could run off, but the beauty of the church kept her from wanting to leave. She felt safe in the church, even more than being in the trunk but not as much as next to Chad.

"Father, I have sinned," Chad grasped his hair and shut his eyes. He was Chad Dylan Cooper; he was not supposed to have sin! "I took something that did not belong to me."

"What is it?"

"It's a she, actually. Sonny Monroe, I took her and now I don't know what to do."

"So what they are saying on the news is true then?"

"Yes, Father. I feel terrible about what I have done, it was so wrong of me, but I can't seem to back out now."

"But if you know it is wrong, then you know what you must do to correct the wrong. If you go on understanding the sin and don't try to rectify it, it is worse than the act itself." Chad fell silent. "Why don't you stay here and think about it, I am going to speak with the young lady. Is that all right?"

"Yes, Father," Chad replied. Father Ron stepped out of the confessional and over to Sonny who was still sitting quietly in the pew, rubbing her arm where the IV had been the last few days.

"Miss Monroe?" the man in white came up to her and began to bless her.

"Yes?" Her head popped up as she let her arm fall to her lap.

"How are you feeling dear?"

"I'm fine. How is Chad?"

"He's going through a spiritual crisis right now, but I'm sure after only a few more chats, I'll be able to help him."

"We're not going to be here long enough," Sonny sighed. "It's my fault. I'm the reason Chad has gotten into so much trouble. We've gotten so many people involved – people who should not be involved. Too many people have committed felonies in order to keep us away from the police."

"Are you saying you don't want someone to help you?"

"No, I what I want is for Chad to realize he can still take us home and I will have my mother drop the charges. I don't want to go if he is not there with me." Father Ron nodded, as if he understood her reasoning. "But I am scared, Father," Sonny looked down in her lap to hide her emotions. "I am feeling so many things I have never felt before. And I do not like those things. Father, I want us to go home and be safe, that is all I have ever wanted. Father, I need to ask for forgiveness."

"For what, my child?"

"I have thought many bad things about Chad, many hateful things. I am losing control, Father."

"Sonny," Father Ron placed a hand on her shoulder as she hid her face. "It is not expected for you to stay normal in this situation. You are not on a walk through the park or on set filming your television show. But the fact that you realize what you have thought is wrong, and you are trying to regain the balance between emotions and actions is good enough. You are willing your soul to forgive someone who is hurting you and I cannot think of a more noble challenge."

"So what do I do? Do I stay with him and wait for him to go home? Or do I run out now?"

"Why would you run? If you wanted out, I would not let him take you away. I cannot tell you what to do, just as I cannot tell Chad how to rectify his wrongs. God's voice will tell you exactly what you need to do. Just listen to it, and you'll understand."

Sonny nodded, not believing Father Ron, but agreed to think about it while he returned to see Chad. All she had to do was say the word, and her protection was right there. The power she had frightened her even further. How could she go from being the feeble victim to the prevailing authority?

"Father, how is she?" Chad asked.

"She is experiencing a spiritual crisis herself. Do you not see, Chad, how what you are doing is draining on both of you?"

"Are you saying I should take her home?" Chad looked up.

"Yes, that would be my personal preference, but I know it is not likely for you to listen to me. But I am saying you need to stop treating her like cargo and more like a fellow human being. That is the child of God you are wrapping up in duct tape and carrying in the trunk of your car for days – weeks!"

"I know, I will find some way to change it," Chad relented. "Thank you, Father, but we must go now. It was nice seeing you again."

"Chad, I think it would be best if you and I could meet a few more times before you leave for good."

"Father Ron, I am sorry, but we have to leave. If we stay stationary for too long, we will get caught." The priest understood and blessed Chad one final time.

Sonny's head popped up when she saw Chad walking towards her, alone.

"Are you ready?" Chad asked softly, not liking the tear marks on her cheeks.

"Yes," Sonny managed to say and followed him to the car. She walked around to the trunk while Chad fumbled with the keys.

"Oh," Chad's face fell when he saw her walking to the trunk as if it had become routine. "You know what, Sonny, why don't you sit up in the passenger's seat. It's easier for me to keep an eye on you that way."

"Thanks, Chad," Sonny smiled and quickly skipped around to the side door.


	10. Welcome To The Future

**I wanted to post this late last night, but I was so tired, and I knew I had to still proof-read it, and let's just say I'm glad I did. Anyways, Enjoy!

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**

"So how did you know him?" Sonny had her hands folded in her lap. She did not intend to talk, knowing the small things she said were inclined to upset him, but the quietness was driving her a bit crazy and she saw Chad getting drowsy from the silence.

"He was my priest when I was a child. He moved away the same time _Mackenzie Falls _began. I haven't been to church since, but I contact him every once in a while."

"It's nice you have someone you can trust so much."

"Yes, it is."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what are we doing for sleeping arrangements tonight? You have been driving for a long time, I think it may be best for you pull over somewhere and get yourself a room."

"And you would like to come in with me?" Chad assumed.

"The nights are starting to get colder," she noted as fall slowly began to pull over the countryside.

"We'll see," he sighed, knowing he was going to let her if she did not do anything stupid.

Sonny looked out the window at herself in the side-view mirror. She thought she looked funny with the large trucker hat Chad asked her to wear if she was going to sit in the front seat. Between the hat, the clothing, and the stress signs covering her face, she hardly recognized herself. Maybe no one else would either and she could remain in the front seat until they returned home safely.

***

She sat in the front seat of the blue car, holding hands with the man she had spent many years with. He was her only friend and the only thing she found support from when she was down. The car still moved sluggishly along, but neither knew how to get a new car and neither had a steady inflow of money which could afford a new car. Whenever they would establish themselves in a hotel for a month, she would find herself a temporary nanny position or walk people's pets, and he would find small odd jobs to do around various neighborhoods. He had become quiet adept at car repair and he also worked well as a bust boy in large restaurant chains where he could quit after a short amount of time and no one would think anything of it. Both would have liked to have been tutors to students – a job which never required applications or references – but neither finished high school and were barely qualified to teach anyone.

Her hair was dyed blonde and his remained black year after year. Even if their original colors were shown, no one would recognize their grown-up selves, and that is what they would rely on. She was wearing a souvenir shirt from the Niagara Falls and he had on a baseball cap from Michigan's Upper Peninsula near Lake Superior. Her white tennis shoes were faded gray and his scuffed from hard labor.

He had become a great driver over time, never having to be afraid of the police department or state troopers as they drove by. They never got in accidents, for he knew how to maneuver his way through anything. She was not allowed to drive, but that was because she did not have a license. Just in case something ever happened, he did not want her getting arrested on that account.

A few years before, they began to date and get serious together, but the strained relationship that grew over time turned their relationship into an uncomfortable endeavor. After a few weeks of considering him asking her to become Mrs. Garret Peterson, they jointly decided it was not meant for them to be anything more than close friends. They would share a kiss every now and then, and if they could only afford a single bed hotel room then so be it, but they knew they would never be more than great friends.

She had lost contact with everyone she ever knew. He would not even allow her to call her mother, even though it had been a long stretch of time, and no one cared what happened in the past. They both were assumed to be dead not long after that one call from her so many years before from his friend's house. Two years after, his black convertible was found at the bottom of a Lake Eerie. When their bodies were not found, the police officers regretted to inform her mother that they somehow managed to drive into the lake and their bodies had probably been washed out to sea. No one would ever be able to find them.

He kept contact with a few close friends, but he only contacted Aiden about once a year, and that was the most frequent contact he had besides her and his employers. Their lives belonged to each other. They may not have been great lives, but they both saw one another's as a cherished possession.

Finishing a trip from Chicago all the way down Route 66, they saw the sign marked, "Welcome to Los Angeles, City of Angels". As if it were any other city, the two continued to drive down the streets, looking for 'Help Wanted' signs or a place where they could purchase a cheap newspaper and look at the job listings.

Suddenly, a strange yet familiar building appeared at the horizon. Looking across the car at her, and her back at him, he turned the car away from the path of the gas station and drove straight towards the large series of buildings. It was exactly how they remembered it, only with different pictures of different teen stars of different shows.

"What do you say?" she finally spoke up, "Should we go say hello? It's been long enough, don't you think?"

He sat there, terrified of exposing the truth, but looking into her eyes, he knew it would be safe. Together they drove to the back lot and parked the car in the exact spot his car was parked so many years prior when he got in a fateful fight over some girl he did not even like and threw his only true friend into the trunk of said car.

She stepped out of the car, came around, and grasped his hand as they slowly entered the building. Many adults in black clothing – those who worked backstage – shuffled around them as if they were mere human beings who did not mean anything to anyone. Walking past several stages, they came upon Studio Three, where a giant poster hung, reading, "Sunny Days…Directed by Marshall Pike…Produced by Tawni Hart".

He could feel her hand sweating onto his, but she urged him to follow her inside. They looked all around, seeing the familiar stage as well as familiar teenagers running around, getting into familiar trouble.

"Michael Bradley Morgan, when we said you weren't welcomed here, we meant it!" a blonde teenager shouted as she menacingly forced an attractive teen boy out of the studio. "Excuse me, do you have a visitor's pass?" the blonde turned to the two and glared them down. "Because if you don't, I'm going to have to call security."

The two adults turned to one another and began to laugh senselessly. Laughter so pure and whole hearted only came on very rare occasions, but the picture of a little, new Tawni and Chad was too much for them to hold in.

"What's going on over here?" Another, shorter teen girl skipped over to the blonde. "Who are your friends?"

"They're intruders," the blonde held her purse close to her as if she was not going to let them anywhere near it.

The smaller girl turned to them and gave them a huge, amicable smile, "I'm sorry, she's not really good with normal people. I'm Summer, is there something I can help you with? What brings you to the set of _Sunny Days_, home of the number one teen comedy in the last five years?"

"Well, Summer," the woman began. "We're looking for some old friends, Marshall Pike and Tawni Hart. Do you know where they are?"

"Marshall should be in his office with Ms. Hart discussing next week's show, as well as our promotional trip to New York in a month. I'm so excited; it will be my first time back to the East Side since I came to Hollywood. Would you like me to take you to them?"

"No, thank you, Summer, I know where his office is."

The two adults walked around several corners and walked past her own dressing room. Her old co-star's star was taken down and replaced with a sliver snowflake. But without taking time to look in it, they continued to walk down to the office of her old boss.

She inhaled deeply in hesitation, but gave him a nod of insurance as he gave a steady knock on the door.

"Did you have another appointment this morning?" Tawni Hart looked at Marshall as she hovered over his desk with both hands planted firmly next to the script ideas for the following show.

"Not that I'm aware of," he scanned his schedule.

"You'll have to make an appointment for later," Tawni called out. "We're busy right now." But the knocking did not stop when she urged it to, so in a huff, she marched over to the door and flung it open. "I'm sorry but we're –"

"Tawni? You're gorgeous, look at you. I always knew you were always going to grow up beautiful," her voice cracked.

"Do I know you?" Tawni looked both people in front of her over and looked back to a now standing Marshall who shook his head in confusion.

"It's me, it's Sonny," Sonny whispered.

"That's not funny, Sonny is dead. She was kidnapped by Chad Dylan Cooper and he drove his car into Lake Eerie. Their bodies were washed out to sea years ago."

"If that was true, then how come I'm here too?" Chad spoke.

"Tawni, when we were teens you and I ruled _So Random_ together. We shared a dressing room, you criticized me, I helped you through hard times – like the time you wore a bald cap!"

The longer Tawni looked, the more she realized who she was really looking at.

"Sonny, I am so sorry! You were right, it always was my fault. We should not have forced you to go see him. The show crumbled after you left. We were able to stretch it three more seasons, but the final season was cut three episodes short after we had a show with only a single family in the audience."

"I'm sorry, Sonny, Chad," Marshall began to understand who the man standing next to his abducted star was. "But I am forced to call the police."

"Marshall, please," Sonny begged.

"No, Sonny, he's right. It's time I face the music. I've skirted this for too many years at your expense. This is better for you here, it's where you belong. Just promise you'll come visit me," Chad insisted. A set of policemen came and slowly took him away. She looked on in horror and impelled herself to rush after him, but her legs would not budge. Suddenly, everything around her became fuzzy and everyone's words became muffled. She head Tawni and Marshall beginning to shout at her.

"Stupid girl!" Tawni screamed in her face. "_I_ ruled _So Random_ alone! You were a horrible actress and you deserved what you got!"

"How could you be so idiotic?" Marshall shoved her against the closed door of his office. "I counted on you, and you went and got yourself kidnapped! What's wrong with you? You only care about yourself!"

"Sonny?" Mrs. Monroe stepped into sight from the corner.

"Mommy!" Sonny's legs were able to move again as she ran to give her mother a hug. It was strange being a grown woman and referring to her mother as such, but she still felt like a scared, sixteen-year-old girl when her mother reappeared.

As she wrapped her arms around her mother, who was now her same height, Mrs. Monroe shoved her away and pointed her index finger at her daughter. "Sonny Monroe, I cannot believe you. The trauma you put everyone through. You are a selfish, little brat! You are a bad daughter!"

Sonny shot up, whimpering in a bed, but was yanked back down by the knot of cloth chaining her to the bed post. Her whole body was covered in sweat from head to toe. She looked to her right to see Chad staring at her from across the room.

"What?" his voice hissed, trying to get her to quiet down before she attracted someone.

"Nothing, just a bad dream," she insisted.

"Do you…want … to talk about it?" he asked, having trouble not only offering his ears in place of his mouth, but also treating her for the first time like someone who needed to be protected.

"No, I really don't."

"Fine," he muttered and fell back to his bed.

"Actually, Chad," Sonny peeped.

"What?"

"I do need to say something. I don't want it to be like this forever. We can't go on like this forever, it won't work and too many people will get hurt."

"Goodnight, Sonny," Chad refused to give a relevant reply and turned over so he was facing the wall. Sonny nodded and rolled over too. She was unable to turn because of the pieces of cloth binding her in one position.

"It was just a dream," Sonny whispered to herself so not even Chad could hear her. But even with her convincing words, the dream still seemed all too real, and she knew that if she let him get too close to her, it would all play out exactly as she had dreamt it.


	11. Whenever You're Near Me

**Hey! So a bit of a shorter chapter, and I figure there is probably only two, maybe three, chapters left. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

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**

The next morning, Chad tossed and turned as he had a more horrifying repeat of the dream he had at Aiden's house.

"Sonny, I need your help," Chad pleaded with the girl in white. He reached his arm out, but all he could see was the black sleeve covering his skin. She exuded a radiant glow that seemed to be as warm as the sun on a California summer day. He felt so cold – he just needed to be surrounded by her warmth. "Sonny, I need help. Don't forget about me."

"No," Sonny stated firmly. "I will not help you, Chad. You don't deserve my help. This is goodbye."

"Sonny, don't leave me," Chad crumbled to the pure white ground. Still holding out his hand, he pleaded, "You're the only one who can redeem me, Sonny. I need you, I've always needed you. Help me!" His voice became aggressive and demanding which only pushed her further away from him.

"You're a monster, Chad Dylan Cooper, I would never help you!" She began to walk away into the never ending white space, but Chad jumped over and wrapped his arms around one of her bare ankles. The warmth and glow from her body faded wherever he touched her, and it seemed to be painful to her. She cried out when he held her and quickly pulled her bare foot away from his hands, allowing the soft glow to return and removing the painful grimace across her face. "Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me! This is why I can't help you."

"But, Sonny, you're the only one who can. It's going to be painful, but if you don't I'm going to…I'm going to…"

Chad flew up in bed and pressed his fingers against his temple. He looked over at Sonny who was sleeping soundly, then hit his bed, cursed, and fell back onto the pillow. Sonny was shaken awake, but kept her head on her pillow, looking straight at the ceiling. She was too afraid to ask if he was all right.

His breathing was labored, but his fists clenched tightly. Throwing the covers off of himself, he stepped out of bed, pulled hers off, and ordered, "Let's go."

***

Connie walked into the _So Random_ studio later that morning and found Marshall sitting at his desk with papers scattered all over the room.

"Connie!" He jumped up and made a pitiful attempt at organizing the mess. "I'm sorry it's such a mess. I'm trying to determine which sketches we'll use right away, the ones we'll keep in storage, and then the ones we'll just throw out. How can I help you?"

"I just came to tell you that the police will be coming by later this afternoon to do a search of the prop house as well as Sonny's dressing room. They're afraid there may be leads in her belongings to help locate where she is. They're at _Mackenzie Falls_ right now."

"Why would they think there's anything that could help them? It was a freak happening."

"The police are grasping at straws. They don't know where to look anymore or even what to think. They're saying now that Chad and Sonny may have had something going on that no one knew about, and whatever it was, he got angry and grabbed her."

"What like drugs?" Marshall stood in disbelief.

"That was one theory."

"Connie, I have been in Hollywood long enough to know a druggie when I see one. I could point out someone on drugs from across the room. Sonny was _not_ on drugs. Tell them they're going to have to come up with a new theory."

"I just wish this made sense somehow. My baby's lost and I have no idea where to start looking. It may be a stretch, and if she were on drugs it would crush my heart, but at least it would be a start to understanding why this happened. The randomness has just been too much for me to handle, and I can only imagine what it is like for her right now."

***

"So that was quite the dream you had last night," Chad commented after two hours of silent driving. The unfamiliar sunlight of the bright morning burned Sonny's eyes, forcing Chad to hand over his sunglasses. "Tell me about it."

"Really?" Sonny looked over dubiously. "Why do you care?"

Her words stung him and brought his thoughts back to his own nightmare, "Let's just give it a whirl. Look, you either tell me, or you're going back in the trunk." Chad caught his breath and looked over at Sonny through the corner of his eye. The last comment was meant as a joke, but it came off horribly.

Sonny looked to the ground, and was thankful for the sunglasses which hid the lone tear forming in one eye. Was he really going to threaten her with the trunk for the rest of their time together? She would rather just go back than be tormented with the debate between humiliating submission and humiliating punishment.

"It was about you and me, but it was in the future," she whispered, exhibiting her weakness. "And we were still in this car, but we were friends, partners. We were happy, even though life was hard."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad. Why were you freaking out then in your sleep? Why did you have to wake me up with your crying?"

"Because when we decided to return to Condor Studios, everything went wrong. We thought enough time passed, but we were wrong. You were arrested, Tawni screamed at me, Marshall shoved me against the wall, and then my own mother said I was a bad daughter."

"Oh, I can see why that would be scary," Chad shrugged.

"Well, it wasn't exactly the events which scared me, but the reality of the situation. Chad, if we don't go home soon, we're never going back home, and then I would let everyone down, and I would be a bad daughter. Letting my mom worry for so many years, knowing I'm alive, but never making the attempt to call her or return home, even though I was no longer your hostage."

Chad hated the word 'hostage'. She was _not _his hostage. "It's your own fault, you know. If you hadn't called her in the first place, she'd still think you're dead, she would have time to grieve, and then she would get over it. But you had to push it, and now her wound is torn open again. Then Ari had to pour some salt in it by calling her back a second time. Gosh, Sonny, it is not my fault if they get angry at you."

"I never said it was," Sonny closed her eyes to hold in tears, but to no avail. A few escaped past her lids, past the glasses, and down her cheek.

Before she could wipe them away, Chad saw the tears, and his thoughts were recaptured by her words in the dream, 'Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me!'

"I'm sorry," he grunted. "It just, this whole thing is so new and so out of my control. But you have to understand, Sonny, what you did was wrong!"

"No, Chad, no it was not," Sonny's voice grew. "My mom was hurting. She was getting sick. She was dying. You might see it as wrong, but you told me the first time you put me in the trunk that you were sorry for what you were doing. Are you sorry anymore, Chad? Are you? You've gotten so delusional, that you actually think you're the innocent one here. After you have been given chance after chance after chance to save yourself, you've taken the path of hate and fear. And I'm sorry, Chad. I will do whatever you want, but I will not say calling my mother was wrong."

"Is that really how you feel, Sonny?" Chad asked menacingly.

"Yes, yes it is."

Chad sighed and pulled off into an abandoned park. That time of morning was too late for joggers, but too early for children, so the park was left empty. Chad hastily jumped from his seat, stomped around to her side, and yanked her out before she could find her feet beneath her. He popped open the trunk and dumped her inside. She did not give him a fight or pull away when he began to wrap her limbs together. She bit down into the bandana when it was fastened around her mouth and closed her eyes when Chad yanked the sunglasses from her face, placing them on his head.

Closing the trunk, he walked back around to the passenger's side and threw the trucker hat, which had fallen to the ground, onto the seat. He closed the door and returned to the driver's position and sped away as quickly as possible.

'Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me!' The words kept echoing through his mind like an evil curse. 'Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me!' He felt the weariness of the restless night consume him, but the voice in his head refused to let his mind focus on anything else. 'Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me!' He stopped for coffee at a fast food restaurant, but the more caffeine in his system, the more frequently the words came. 'Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me!' He tapped his finger on the steering wheel. 'Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me!' He drank from the cup. 'Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me!' Chad switched lanes to pass a stalled car. 'Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me!'

"Shut up!" he shouted through the car. Sonny's eyes popped open, fearing his anger had finally taken over. Besides, who was he talking to? Why did he tell someone to shut up? Was she not the only one in the car besides him?

Throughout the day, Chad became more and more tense and exhaustion was quickly becoming a problem. He knew he should have pulled over to a motel and sleep for the rest of the day, but he convinced himself he would be fine and nothing bad would happen – he was wrong.

Sometime in the early afternoon, Chad saw an exit sign which advertised a coffee shop which he figured could give him an extra burst of energy. He looked around and there was not a single car around, it was as if he were all alone, but as he switched lanes, he forgot to check his blind spot and almost hit the person next to him.

The man in the other car, no older than twenty-five, honked his horn and raced back to Chad's tail end. Chad realized he was being tailgated, and if did not act fast, something horrible was going to happen. He looked back into his rearview mirror and saw there were at least two other men in the car, urging the driver on.

The man nudged Chad in the back, throwing him slightly off course. Upon contact, he heard Sonny shriek from the trunk. Chad suddenly remembered that if they were to get in an accident, she was likely dead.

Sonny closed her eyes as she felt another car bump into the car right next to her. She knew there was not even an inch of metal between her and this other car. She began to think this was the end. Praying, saying silent goodbyes, and allowing a few tears to fall, Sonny waited for it to be over.

Chad tried to accelerate to get away from his pursuer, but the attacking car was too adept at staying on top of him. Finally, with one final nudge to Chad's back left corner, the navy blue car flipped over and off the side of the road down into a ditch. The last thing Chad could hear was the shrill cry coming from the trunk.

***

"Oh…my…gosh," Ari dropped her hamburger on the table as she continued to read through the medical journal in her hand.

"What?" Aiden dipped his fry in the ketchup mound and stroked the plastic hair of the Sonny _So Random_ bobble-head doll which came in the kiddy-meal he ordered. He already had about sixteen Sonny bobble-heads, but one can never have too much Sonny Monroe. "What?" Aiden demanded when Ari did not respond.

"I should have known – this is so obvious!"

"What?!"

"This says that when someone's muscles are cramped up in the same position for an extended period of time, lactic acid builds up and then poisons the kidneys. We may have gotten Sonny periodically better, but I did not treat her kidneys directly. She's in trouble."

"How long do we have?"

"A week, maybe two," she guessed.

"Chad will never bring her back that quickly. He does not trust us or anyone right now."

"Then we need to track him down, don't we?"

***

Chad slowly regained consciousness. He found a small cut on his forehead, but for the most part, his seatbelt had kept him safe and virtually unharmed. But before he could be thankful for his own safety, he remembered the human cargo in his trunk. "Sonny!" he shouted out. Chad flew out of the car, falling to the ground before reaching the trunk. The car was a bit crushed on top, but the body seemed to hold its shape fairly well. "Sonny," he opened the trunk to reveal the unconscious, bound girl.

'Whenever you're near me, Chad, you hurt me!'


	12. Passion Means To Suffer

**Thank you so much for the reviews everyone! I loved each and every one of them! So I tried to throw in a bit of Channy today before tearing them apart. Thank you for reading. Enjoy!

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**"God, Sonny!" Chad shouted, afraid to touch her, not knowing how badly she was broken. There was a large gash on her head, but it was not bleeding horribly. Her arms, legs, and face began to reveal bruises from being thrown about the trunk. Her left forearm was beginning to swell and he feared one of the bones was fractured. The trunk had shrunk about three inches from the rear-end collisions, which may have saved her life. With less space to fly, she would not have hit the sides with such impact. "Sonny, please, I'm so sorry," Chad pounded on the side of the car. "God, I'm so sorry!" Sonny's eyes cracked opened to allow the tears space to flow. She was shaking from fear and pain. Small cries escaped passed the bandana in her mouth, and her body retracted into a tightly coiled position. "Sonny! It's going to be all right," Chad assured.

He tore off a piece of her blanket and applied pressure to her head. The bleeding quickly clotted into the blanket, and when he removed the blanket to see if the bleeding was slowing, he tore a scab off with it. Sonny let out a painful scream when he did. Small fuzzies from the piece of material remained in the wound, but provided a solid material for her body to naturally heal around. Chad continued to dab gently at the wound so blood would not run down into her eyes.

Finally, when the bleeding seemed to stop, Chad sat down against the bumper and hid his face in his hands. Sonny lay in the trunk, still in pain, but did not move. She was terrified of how the next days would play out. It would take someone truly ignorant to not know she needed hospital attention, and she feared Chad may have been that someone.

Chad leaned over and slowly removed the damp banana from Sonny's mouth.

"Chad," Sonny tried to choke back the tears. "Where are we?"

"We're in Texas, somewhere near the border," Chad admitted. Sonny did not need to ask him why they were there; she just wondered how she would fit into the situation.

"At first I thought about taking you with me, but you need to get home. I understand now." Chad reclosed the trunk, returned to the driver's seat, and attempted to turn the ignition. To both teens' surprise, the car instantly started up, and he was able to drive it to the top of the ditch. Sonny held in a cry when the incline caused her body to fall against the back of the car.

There was still no one around, and knowing this was one of the more deserted areas of the freeway, he worried she would not get the needed attention fast enough, but there was not enough time to do anything else. He quickly made sure all of the doors, including the trunk, were unlocked, and walked back to where Sonny was held.

"Hey," he kneeled and played with a small piece of her hair. He withdrew a knife from his pocket and began to cut away at the duct tape bindings. Chad had possessed the knife all along, but he never wanted to show it to her, and make her think he would threaten her with it if things got too bad. He set the bag of food and water next to her where she could easily access it.

"Hey," she replied and waited patiently as he worked away near her wrists then ankles. "Do you really have to go?"

"You know it's best," he declared removing the last piece of tape. He gently massaged the raw patches of skin around her wrists. "I can't stay here and you can't come with me."

"Why not?" Sonny's body tingled when his hands slid down to her ankles and gently began to work the pain away. "Why can't I come? Why do you have to go alone?"

"Just remember your dream, Sonny. If you were to stay with me, your life would be horrible. I can't put you through any more. I can't stand opening this trunk everyday and seeing the massacre I have hidden away for so long. I'm sorry; I guess this is goodbye, Sonny."

"Chad, wait!" Sonny called out. "Just promise you'll visit one day."

"Okay, I promise," Chad smiled and bent down to pick up the red bandana, but as his torso was down, Sonny used her one good arm and wrapped it around his neck, pulling his lips down onto hers. He immediately dropped the bandana to the ground and carefully began to caress her face. Any emotion felt between the two during their time together was brought back in the kiss. Hatred, fear, anger, happiness, comfort, and joy was shared between the two. She tried to give him as much passion as he gave other girls, without giving him too much, but she did feel rather tired and weak. He kissed her gently, not wanting to hurt her anymore than he already had. She finally subsided and reluctantly pulled away due to her burning muscles. The brief moment of pleasure felt as if it had lasted a lifetime, and they knew they would need to hold onto it for one. She knew the moment they stopped, he'd be gone, but she prayed it had been enough to keep him.

When Chad finally pulled away from her personal space, giving her a questioning look, she sighed and began to explain.

"No, Chad, I'm not mad at you. I'm really sorry it had to end this way…I never realized how I really felt about you, until I knew I was going to lose you. I never imagined it ending like this."

"I'll see you again one day, Sonny. It shouldn't be too hard to find you; I know you'll go far." Chad reached down and picked the bandana up again, looked at her face one more time, and closed the trunk. He picked up a pen and a napkin and hurriedly jotted down, 'Help Me. I'm in the TRUNK' on the napkin. He set the piece of paper on the dashboard and jumped out and tied the red bandana around the antenna to signify he needed help. Chad retied his tennis shoes tightly and walked back to the trunk. His fingers ran over the bent metal and held the urge to take her out and run away with her by his side. "Goodbye, Sonny."

Chad turned away from the car one last time and bolted down the road towards Mexico.

***

Sonny lay still in the car. Her body ached, but her limbs were free, and she was able to fix herself in a more comfortable position. She thought back to how the car flipped over twice and finally landed upright. She remembered the sound of metal crunching around her and the feeling of her body being thrown into the metal.

Suddenly, after almost a day, she remembered the phone in her back. She reached around carefully with her good arm and flipped it open. She had no idea about Chad's plan to attract someone to the car, and she feared he left her for dead. But he had talked about her going home, did he not?

Looking at the phone, she was nervous at how outrageously low the battery was. She only had one call – maybe. Thinking the numbers Ari had told her, she could not remember if her mother was speed dial two or three. She closed her eyes and guessed three. The phone rang and continued to ring until the voicemail picked up – Ari's voicemail. Before she could leave a message, though, the battery died.

"No!" she cried and threw the phone against the other end of the trunk. Her one chance of getting someone's help, and the battery died.

***

It had been almost thirty-six hours since Chad had left Sonny, and she was getting sick from the pain. Cars had passed by, but no one had the heart to pull over to help. She was beginning to think she was going to die there. Trying to keep her stomach under control, Sonny tried her hardest to fall asleep. Sleep had been the only thing which kept her safe and sane over the past few weeks, it would hopefully work now too.

But Sonny did not have the chance to fall asleep, for as soon as she closed her eyes, she heard another car pull up next to her. She found herself terrified. It was a perfect stranger outside, and she did not know who she could trust. Who was the person? It was probably a man. Would he help her? Would he hurt her? Was he going to kidnap her and hold her for himself when he recognized who she was? Why had Chad not thought it through?

"Hello, is anyone in there?" the person quickly tapped on the trunk.

"Yes, yes!" Sonny finally called out, feeling slight comfort in his voice. "Please, help me."

"Okay, don't worry, I know how to break into these models. I got one for a friend just a couple weeks ago. Hang tight," the stranger explained. Sonny felt as if she could trust this person. He sounded young and like he really cared about her. But something in the back of her mind told her it would still be a long ride home. "All right, so everything is unlocked. The latch is broken shut from the accident, but if I pull and you push really hard, we can force the top open. On the count of three. One…two…three!"

Sonny used her legs to push as hard as she could on the top of the trunk. Everything down her body ached and her injuries screamed for her to stop, but her head told her to keep pushing. The faster she escaped from the car, the faster she returned home to her mother, to _So Random_, and to safety.

At last, the top flew open and Sonny's body collapse back to the trunk floor and shut her eyes. Feeling as if she was finally being rescued, her body gave out.

"Sonny Monroe?" her rescuer shouted. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Yeah," Sonny smiled sleepily by kept her eyes shut until the person kicked the side of the car in an angry huff. "What's wrong?" Sonny sat up against her body's will and instantly recognized exactly what was wrong. "Justin?"

***

"Aiden, do you have any idea yet where he could have gone?" Ari scrunched her hair nervously while trying to hunt down her cell phone which she had lost

"Not a clue. He would not tell me anything!" Aiden exclaimed, picking his head up off of the _So Random_ pillow which had Sonny's face printed on it.

"You don't think he could have run off to Mexico, do you?"

"If he had, he'd be long gone by now. We'd never catch him, and we can't be searching two countries for him. Ari, we'll never find him."

"It's not him I'm really worried about. Don't you care about finding Sonny?"

"Ari, of course I do. How could you accuse me of that?"

"Then start thinking. Where could he have gone? Or where would he have dropped Sonny off at? You know him better than anyone else. Where is he, Aiden?"

"Mazatlan. He always talked about going to Mazatlan, Mexico when we were young. He's there, I know it."

***

"Oh, so you do know my name. I'm shocked! Someone as high and mighty as you, actually knowing someone as pathetic as me!"

"You don't forget the person who called you a skank," Sonny seethed.

"What? Would you have rather me called you a hoe or whore or slut?"

"Why do you hate me? I never even met you before this!"

"Maybe your audition tape for _So Random_ would make a little more sense."

"My audition tape? Do you mean the internet audition series? What does that have to do with anything?" Justin refused to answer. "Oh my gosh. You auditioned too, didn't you?"

"Yes, and Marshall Pike told me I was number one on their list before the deadline for tapes ended. But then right at the last minute, you had to come on with your little flirtatious sketch and that horrible outfit. I'm not surprised a roomful of men picked you!"

"Justin," Sonny finally understood his hatred for her. "You don't seriously think I was trying to be promiscuous. I would never! I am _not_ that kind of girl."

"Just shut up and get into the car," he ordered and walked back to his own car.

"Wait, you're still helping me?" Sonny began to climb from the trunk, finding it hard to support herself on her own legs. She looked over and saw Justin was still driving around Chad's black convertible. Sonny smiled remembering how much Chad loved that car.

"Look, I might not like you, but I am still a better person than you will ever be."

Sonny wanted to protest his accusations, but she knew once again she'd have to keep her mouth shut if she wanted to get home.

"You could just drop me off a police station or a bus station or even an airport if you wanted," she offered.

"Why, you don't think I have business to do in Hollywood?"

"Oh, do you have an audition?" Sonny tried to kick up the small talk.

"Don't sound so surprised. You know, you're not the only actress in L.A. Sonny Monroe."

Sonny nodded and turned her head out the window. How could Chad have two friends so different? First he had someone as sweet as Aiden, and then someone as mean and judgmental as Justin. Of course, she did have Lucy and Tawni – two polar opposites.

"Just keep your head down until I can get you a disguise. I am not getting busted for this," he ordered.

Justin turned on the radio to drown out the quietness, plus, he did not want Sonny to start talking again. He drove until he found a gas station where he could buy another hat and a large pair of sunglasses. Justin swore he was going to make Chad reimburse him for anything he spent on her. Justin did not want to get caught, but he mostly he wanted to hide Sonny's face so he did not have to look at the hideous disgrace which covered her face.

While in the gas station, Sonny pulled down the visor to get a glimpse of her face. Her head was still trying to heal the large wound on her forehead, and the small fuzzes decorated the scab like polka dots. She was incredibly pale, except for the bruises which tainted her skin. She knew she could have looked worse, though. The majority of bruises were not very dark or large.

She pulled her fingers through her hair and attempted to straighten out her part and the loose strands. She cleaned the sleep from her eyes and the dried blood from her forehead. Looking in the center counsel, she found a pack of mint gum. Knowing Justin would be inside for a few more minutes, she quickly chewed a piece, feeling the comfortable tingle of the freshening herb fill her mouth. When Justin began to exit the store, she quickly swallowed the gum, expecting him to be angry she stole something from him, and sat there cradling her broken arm. She still felt dizzy from the pain streaming through her body, but she knew she would get the help she needed in a couple days. She just hoped she would last until then.

***

"Hey, Ari!" Aiden called out the door of their hotel room. "I found your phone. You have one missed call."

"Who's it from?" she ran to him, excited they would finally get a chance to leave the hotel and get back on the road.

"What?" Aiden looked at her furiously after seeing the name on the caller ID. "Why did Sonny give you her phone number and not me?"

"Sonny called?" Ari rushed over and snatched the phone from his hand. She there was no voicemail and she began to think the worst. What if something really bad was happening to Sonny? Ari knew she would not call unless it was between life and death – and even then Sonny would have hesitated. What if Chad caught her using the phone? He would have exploded.

"Is everything all right?" Aiden asked curiously.

"I don't know. Come on, we need to check out and keep moving."

"Look, Ari, I have a football game tomorrow night. I'm in school. I hate to say it. I mean, I _really _hate to say it, but we have to continue on with our normal lives. Chad is going to take care of her. Besides, he likes her. He doesn't deserve her at all, but he likes her. Chad's not going to let anything bad happen. The phone battery probably just ran out. Let's go home, Ari. Call the police if you must."

"I'm not calling the police, Aiden. I'm not letting you take the fall for what Chad got us into. But you're right. You do need to get home. Here, take my credit card. Go hop on the bus back to Santa Fe. Tell mom and dad I'll be home soon."

"Thanks, Ari," Aiden hugged his older sister. "And Ari."

"Yes?"

"When you find them, tell Sonny she's gorgeous for me."

"Goodbye, little bro."

***

"So, how is this going to work?" Sonny stared at the giant hotel sign which glowed in the dark. It was a much nicer place than where Chad had been staying at, even though it was still one of the cheaper hotels.

Justin sighed. He had argued all evening with himself as to what he would do with Sonny when he arrived at his hotel. "Well, as I see it, you either stay in here or I allow you in there. If I keep you out here, people are going to wonder why the missing Sonny Monroe is sleeping inside a car. I could lock you in the trunk, but I am _not_ committing a crime while I'm helping you. So you're going to come in with me, and you're going to sleep on the floor. Understand?" Sonny nodded and tried to conceal her smile. She did not want another night outside.

When they had successfully snuck into his room, she looked around the plain room. There was a single bed, a bathroom, and a balcony. There were a total of four pillows on the bed. Justin threw three down to Sonny, but kept the most comfortable one for himself. Sonny understood what the excess of pillows were for, and arranged two on her left side to support her broken arm.

"Goodnight, Justin," Sonny whispered quietly, just as she had whenever she was in Chad's presence at night. But Justin was not Chad, and in case Sonny was beginning to doubt that, he forced her to remember.

"Shut up, skank, and go to sleep."


	13. Take Me Home Country Roads

**This is NOT the last chapter :) I'm actually thinking there will be two more. A shorter chapter and then an epilogue. I am so sorry though it's been two weeks since updating. I have been so busy, it's almost made me go crazy, and it has gotten me sick. I'm so sorry to make everyone who gave such great reviews on the last chapter and everyone who has read so steadily wait for so long. I'll try to keep another chapter from taking so long. So, I will not keep you any longer... **

**Enjoy!

* * *

**"Chad, I'm sorry," Sonny mumbled in her sleep. "Chad…"

"Sonny, shut up," Justin rolled over in his bed. His alarm sounded a few minutes later, and he was irritated he was awakened before then. "Get up, Sonny, we're leaving early so we can get back by tonight."

"Tonight?" Sonny slowly sat up, holding her arm. "Isn't that a bit early?"

"Not if we push. Let's go!"

Sonny shivered as she stood to her feet. She had left the blanket Chad bought her in the car and Justin hogged every blanket in the room that night. After both of them cleaned up, they were immediately back inside the car and on the road.

"Hey, Justin, I don't know if I've said it yet, but thank you." Sonny murmured. "You really didn't have to do this for me, and just the fact that you're willing to make sure I return home safely, you're kind of like my hero. Thank you."

Justin did not even turn to look at her, but instead turned on the radio, drowning her voice out. Sonny hated it, but she began to cry. She had been able to withhold the uncontrollable tears the entire time she was gone, but now everything came flooding out. It was true, when she was locked away in the trunk, a tear or two flowed by, but she had been able to suppress the storm. Now, however, she could not control it no matter how hard she tried.

Her whimpers and sobs began to rise over the radio, so Justin turned up the volume once again, making it impossible to hear her cry.

***

"Hey, Tawni, how did your big audition go?" everyone circled around her as she marched into the prop room.

"I wouldn't know!" Tawni threw her hands in the air. "Apparently, there's a huge traffic jam across the tri-state area, and traffic was barely moving! When I was ten minutes late, the casting director called and told me to not come at all!"

***

"You have got to be kidding me!" Justin leaned on his horn to show his dissatisfaction with the current traffic jam, shaking Sonny awake from a crying-induced slumber. Her face was flushed, her lips swollen, and her eyes bloodshot.

"Where are we?" she asked quietly, barely expecting a response.

"Read the sign," he pointed out the window. 'Welcome to Phoenix, Arizona!' the sign welcomed. Sonny was shocked they had been able to make it so far, and she knew there were only a few hours left until they reached Hollywood. She should be home before dinner! "I should have known," Justin honked the horn again. "The number one rule of the old Navy, never bring a chick on board, especially one like you. It's bad luck. We're going to be stuck in this traffic all night. We're not going to make it to Hollywood by tonight. Thanks a lot, Sonny."

"You don't honestly think this is my fault," Sonny turned to him.

"I could have had a nice, private car ride to L.A. all on my own. But then you had to come along and make everything more complicated. I don't know why I even said I would help you."

"You said it yesterday. You're a good person, Justin. You may try to hide it, but deep down, you're a good person."

"Quiet! Okay?" Justin flipped. "You are not my shrink, and you do _not_ get to tell me who I am. You have no idea, Sonny Monroe. Just stop talking. I don't want to hear any more thank yous, I don't want to hear any more small talk, and I _really_ don't want to hear any more attempts at you befriending me. So stop talking, be quiet, and let's just get through this so we never have to see one another ever again."

Sonny sighed and stared out her window. The car sitting next to her had a small boy and his even younger sister in the backseat. Their part of the car was exactly adjacent to Sonny's window, and the two children instantly recognized her, even through the disguise. The two kids started bouncing rapidly in their seats and pulled at their parents in the front. Sonny could read from their mouths them saying, "Mom, Dad! It's Sonny Monroe! She's back! Sonny Monroe!"

Sonny tilted her head down so the adults could not look back and see her face, but she was fairly confident they were not in the right position to see her anyway. When the parents finally gave up, she turned back to the kids and began to make funny faces at them, making them laugh insensibly. She pulled her eyelids apart, then folded her lips up to simulate a monkey, then puffed her cheeks out and used her two index fingers to look like antennas, and finally, she pulled her ears out, stuck out her tongue, and crossed her eyes. Suddenly, Justin caught on to what she was doing, and smacked her against the head. It was not hard enough to seriously hurt, but it was violent enough to get her attention.

The two children looked on in horror as their role model held onto her head and the driver next to her pull forward three car spaces.

"Are you really that stupid, too?" Justin accused.

"They're just kids, Justin. They're not hurting anyone. I thought maybe since they are probably bored to death in this traffic, they could use some entertainment," Sonny explained. She so badly wanted to mutter, 'It's what real entertainers do,' just loud enough for him to hear it, but she was smart enough to see how badly that could turn out. "I'm sorry," Sonny choked out.

"You're what?"

"I'm sorry. You're right; I shouldn't be attracting attention to myself."

"What do you want from me?" Justin looked at her, frustrated at her transparent attempt.

"Can I just call my mother, and tell her I'm safe and coming home? Please."

"No," Justin scoffed. "Heck no! So I'm just supposed to drop you off with a band of police officers and paparazzi surrounding us? You know what? Just stop. I'm not discussing this any longer. Read a book or something, just stop talking."

"You have a book?" Sonny looked at him curiously. Justin grunted, reaching back to the floor of the backseat, and throwing a magazine in her lap. "Air Craft Magazine: Sixteen New Flying Machines," Sonny muttered the title.

"There, now read that and stay quiet!"

"Thank you."

"Ah!" Justin turned his head so hard, the bones cracked. Sonny finally received the message and began to flip through the pages of the magazine. It was one of the most boring things she had ever read, but it beat sitting in silence, staring at nothing.

***

Sonny bit onto her lower lip in her sleep. She was unaware of how she was trying to stifle her cries, but it had not taken long for her to realize she did not want to disturb Justin in his own sleep.

Her arm throbbed up and down, keeping her from rolling over on the hard, hotel floor beneath her. She desperately tried to escape from her dream, but it was like an evil spirit held her there, torturing her until she gave out.

"Chad!" Sonny cried out inside her dream. "Chad, I'm so sorry, please don't hurt me."

The boy she thought she knew stood above her, glaring down at her sitting inside the trunk. His eyes cut right through her and she could swear she saw flames inside them. Everything around her seemed to be getting hot, but Chad just stood there, with one hand gripping her collar and the other as a fist, cocked back, ready to strike any moment.

"I gave you a chance, Sonny," he warned, "But you took that chance and tore it to pieces! Do you think I like what I had to do to you?" Chad held the abused girl easily in one hand. She was dotted with bruises and cuts, and looked as if she had just been sent through a shredder. Her body sat limp, awaiting the final blow.

"I know! I know I had a chance, and I'm sorry, I ruined it! Please, Chad, please just forgive me."

"I needed your help, Sonny, but you refused. I _begged _you for help, but you didn't listen! You turned a blind eye to my pain, and kept the glory all for yourself. So you deserve everything you're going to get!" Chad swung his free fist around and collided with her face just as Sonny sat up in her sleep.

Sonny breathed unsteadily and looked around. It was still dark out, Justin was still sleeping, and the sun had not even begun to steal away the night. She felt a warm liquid slid down her cheek, and wiping at the substance, she realized that she bit right through the skin along her lip while trying to disguise her terror.

She remembered Chad saying he had a dream of him asking her for help while they were at Aiden's house, but why would she have had such an aggressive dream? Chad would never hurt her, not like that, not ever.

Slowly, Sonny stood up and stepped into the bathroom to clean off the blood. It was not a deep cut and had almost completely healed by that time. Sonny looked around and saw the complimentary soap and shampoo. Even though the pain in her arm was unbearable, the thought of going another day without a shower seemed even worse. She knew she would be attacked by the press the next day when she finally returned home, and she wanted to keep her dignity.

The water felt so warm to her freezing limbs. Her fingers tingled as the blood slowly warmed itself up with the help of the water. Her hair immediately released the excess oil and dirt from her head when she mixed a drop of shampoo into her hair. As she washed herself down with the soap bar, she noticed all of the dirt as it circled down to the drain, but instead of being angry, she was glad to know this experience was almost over, and she was washing the pain away. Her right hand trailed carefully over all of the bruises caused by the accident. They hurt almost as bad as her arm, but nothing quite compared to the pain of her broken forearm.

Before she used too much of the warm water, Sonny quickly shut of the shower's stream and stepped out into the cold night air. As she left the bathroom, holding her hair with one of the four given towels, she noticed the sun was indeed beginning to pop up. The sky went from dark black to a navy blue. She could begin to see the outline of trees nearby and the large Hollywood Sign Mountain far off into the distance. Although she shuttered from the distance, Sonny knew she would soon be home.

***

Sonny sat in the passenger seat with her knees pressed between her and the dashboard. Her right arm cradled her left, her face was hidden beneath the sunglasses and hat, and her jaw was clenched shut to remind herself not to say anything. Sonny's head rested against the window as she stared out into the trees which lined the freeway. The Hollywood sign was almost readable from where they were at, but it would not be until later that afternoon when they would reach it.

Sonny tried to determine what exactly she would say to the press. The number one question, of course, would be, 'Who kidnapped you?' She did not know if she could handle being attacked all night by the mobs, but she knew she had little choice but to accept it. At least when she would be taken to the hospital, only close family and friends would be admitted to see her. Naturally she would have to tell the story several times to police officers, but it would not be as bad as if the press were listening in.

Did even Hollywood know a momentous occasion that would happen that afternoon? Sonny did not like to think of herself as someone the entire city missed, but she would be the center of attention for certain. Which journalism interns would make their big break off of her? Which press veterans would regret deciding to go on vacation or taking a sick day? What would they say about her? Surely the first few headlines would be 'She's Back!' or 'Sonny Days Return to LA' or 'Sonny is Safe Once Again!' But after details of what happened would leak to the press, after the general public became bored with her safety, and after she became unprofitable on her own, the tabloids would start writing hate articles and conspire theories of how she and Chad were in an intimate and abusive relationship, how she was involved in drugs, how he acted as her pimp and prostituted her to strangers, how they mutually schemed to raise publicity for their shows, and how she had killed Chad and left him in the middle of nowhere. If it could be imagined, it would be written. She laughed when she began to think she would rather still be in the trunk than have to face to press.

"What's so funny?" Justin broke the silence.

"It's not important," Sonny whispered, not wanting another tongue lashing from him.

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway."

"No," Sonny replied again in a whisper, her head continuing to lean against the window.

Justin was somewhat satisfied, knowing he had finally gotten through to her, finally broken her, but he had directly asked her a question, and she still evaded him. She ignored his authority. He calmed himself down, however, and convinced himself her quietness was for the best.

After a few more minutes of lonely quietness, Sonny's eye caught a piece of paper sticking out from underneath the seat. Without thinking of whom it belonged to, she reached down, picked it up, and unfolded it. She looked at the title warily, _Sonny's Firsts_. She slowly began to read through the list.  
_I was wrong  
I watched So Random  
I laughed at a Random's joke  
I feel nauseous/nervous  
I did charity work  
I get impulsive  
I feel multiple conflicting emotions  
I am starting to see a bigger picture_

She looked at the list a bit longer. She finally realized the list was not about things she had done, but things she had made someone else do. But who? The language sounded so familiar, and she swore she had seen that handwriting somewhere before. But where? She thought she had felt some of the same feelings once before. But when? The list itself even elicited strange emotions. But what? There were so many unanswered questions. But why?

Suddenly it hit her. This was Chad's car, it was Chad's letter. Why did Chad write a list about her? Did Chad really feel this way and do these things because of her? He had kissed her, though, he kissed her well. Maybe she had dreamt it, or worse, she had hallucinated it. No, he had definitely kissed her back.

Sonny refolded the piece of paper and tucked it into her shoe (her shorts void of pockets) and smiled quietly to herself. Why did he have such a strong effect on her? He had kidnapped her, insulted her, yelled at her, kept her locked in a trunk, and then abandoned her. Did he even deserve her forgiveness? Probably not, but that is what made their friendship so special. She gave him things no one else would, and she enjoyed doing it. It was proven by the list.

***

"Well, welcome back to California," Justin grunted as they crossed state lines an hour later. Sonny woke from a small nap and began to glow. They were there! They were almost home! Over the next hour and forty-five minutes, she could hardly control herself. Even through all the pain, her legs jiggled up and down anxiously as the streets became increasingly familiar.

"Please don't let this be a dream. Please don't let this be a dream. Please don't let this be a dream!" Sonny whispered to herself, but Justin could hear her.

"Shut up. This is _not_ a dream. You know, some have other people pinch or punch them, to inflict pain to convince themselves they're not in a dream. But being with you these last couple of days was quite painful enough to know this is no dream."

"Well, Justin, it's been a struggle, but I have to say, I'm glad it was you and not some creep who would have taken advantage of the situation. I'm sorry if I caused you too much trouble. If you wish, I can find you compensation for your troubles. Just say the word and it's yours. So what can I do for you?"

"You want to know what you can do?" Justin pulled the car to the side of an empty road. "Get out."

"What?"

"Get out of the car. See those buildings across the way? That's Condor Studios. This is where our journey together ends. I'm not risking Condor security cameras picking up my picture. If you keep those glasses on and your hair under that hat, no one should recognize you. It's not like people are expecting to see Sonny Monroe walking down the streets."

Sonny nodded and began to exit the car.

"And Sonny," Justin stopped her from closing the door.

"Yes?"

"Just, stay out of trouble. I don't want to rescue you again."

Sonny smiled. He cared about her safety, even if he refrained from showing it. "All right, I'll stay safe. And good luck with your audition, Justin, I'm rooting for you." She closed the door and he raced off, not looking back. Sonny stared at the building off in the distance and began to set out for safety.

***

Sonny did not have to walk more than a few miles, but as the pain in her body returned, the final mile seemed endless. Her arm ached every time it swayed back and forth in rhythm with her strides. As her legs – which had not walked more than a few feet at a time over the last few weeks – began to tighten and tire, the bruises that laced her skin cried out for her to stop. But she did not stop, she kept going. It would be wrong for her to stop now; besides, she did not have anywhere to stop at.

So she kept walking, further and further, until she reached the back lot of Condor Studios. The only spot empty was Chad's. They had kept his spot, probably hoping he would return one day soon. They were going to give him his job back and he was going to get his life back as well. That is all she ever wanted for the both of them. Why could the event not just be like a bad break up? A nasty blotch in their histories, but something they would both move on from.

Her hand fell upon the handle to the back door of Studio Three. Was she really going to be able to open it? Was she strong enough to face what was coming? Sonny knew, though, she could not walk away. She needed medical attention, badly, and she feared the consequences of going another night without it.

It had to be done. The door had to be open and she had to march on to safety. Inhaling deeply, Sonny turned the handle and pushed to door open with her good hand, using her shoulder to push the metal door away. Even though it was not broken, her right arm was covered in bruises as well, and she grunted to get it open just enough to squeeze her small body through.

No one seemed to notice her as she walked down the long hallways. Apparently a girl in old clothing, sunglasses, and a hat was not suspicious enough to stop her for a visitor's pass. Even the crewmen who worked at _So Random_, people she had befriended while she was not filming, did not recognize her. She wondered if her friends would.

***

"That's it!" Tawni shouted and leapt off the couch in the prop room. "I am so tired of sitting here, feeling bad for Sonny, for Mrs. Monroe, and for ourselves. I'm going home."

"Tawni, you can't just go home. The day isn't over yet," Nico noted. "I think you can stay here for another hour. Besides, what gives you the superiority to go home while the rest of us have to stay here?"

"Do you know how much extra time I have put in, going over to her apartment, talking with the police, and worrying about her? I was thrown out of my own dressing room for two days so they could tear everything apart, looking for clues as to where she was. Then I had to put it all back together, on my own, on my spare time."

"But what if she comes back? Do you really want to be gone for that?" Grady reasoned.

"Come back? She's been gone for weeks. Every day we sit around here, saying this day may be the day she comes back home. Every day we expect something that is never going to happen. If she was killed by Chad, she's _never _coming back! So why should we wait around here forever?"

"Don't say that," Zora warned. "Don't say she's dead. We don't even know if Chad has her."

"Come on!" Tawni rolled her eyes. "They both go missing at the same time on the same day right when she was going to see him? Sitting around, doing nothing, it wasn't in my job description. I'm going to tell Marshall I'm going home. I'll see you guys in the morning." Tawni marched over to the door and swung it open as if it were a feather. Tawni had been moving so mindlessly, she almost ran into the person in front of the door. "Do…I know you?" She looked the person over.

Without further hesitation, the person standing there tore off her sunglasses and her hat, allowing her long, brown hair tumble down her back. "Hey, Tawni, it's me. It's Sonny."


	14. Politics Will Be The Death Of Me

**Hey everyone! This chapter ended being SO MUCH LONGER than I ever would have thought. Thank you to so many people who helped we with some of the dialogue! I love you guys. Enjoy!!!

* * *

**"There's no way. Sonny?" Tawni grit her teeth, looking down at the ragged girl. Everyone else was too shocked to move from their seats. "You were coming home and you couldn't give us a call? You couldn't give us any warning at all? What's wrong with you?"

"Tawni," Sonny pleaded, not wanting to be yelled at again, while restricting eminent tears. "Please, I can explain." The color began to drain from Sonny's flesh.

"You better start because I –" Tawni stopped herself as she finally got a good look at the girl. There was a huge cut on her head, her entire body was covered in bruises, her arm was unnaturally swollen, and her legs looked like they were about to give out at any moment. She suddenly remembered Sonny had not just disappeared – she had been kidnapped. Tawni threw her arms around the weak girl, practically holding her up. "I'm so sorry. You were right, we shouldn't have made you go."

"I didn't think Tawni Hart did hugs?" Sonny heaved, Tawni's limbs pressing against every single wound.

"Tawni Hart also doesn't lose her friends to kidnappings."

"Aw, I didn't know I was your friend, Tawni," Sonny smiled and rested her head against Tawni's shoulder, feeling her body ready to give way.

"Shut up, Sonny," Tawni said with a small laugh and a smile. "We should probably take you to go see Marshall. He'll get us some help. Come on." But while Tawni pulled back and gestured down the hallway, Sonny just stood in place and continued to get paler and paler. Tawni thought if the girl lost any more color, she would simply disappear. "Sonny, are you okay?"

"Tawni," Sonny whimpered before blacking out into the arms of her blonde friend.

Tawni quickly caught hold of Sonny underneath her arms. She lifted the fainted girl in her arms and turned towards the boys and Zora. Normally, Tawni would not have been able to lift anyone, but with Sonny's weight loss and the excess time allowing her to exercise more frequently, she picked Sonny up as easily as one of the teen gladiators would have in normal circumstances.

"I'm taking her to Marshall's office. We need a towel, blankets and a pillow, and water. Go!" Tawni ordered, stepping aside so the rest of the cast could acquire the materials. Once they were gone, Tawni swiftly walked towards Marshall's office. "Marshall, open up!" Tawni ordered, kicking with her pointed shoe top to make as much noise on the door as she could.

"Tawni, relax!" Marshall grunted, getting out of his chair, not wanting another confrontation with her about her wanting to leave early. "If you can just…" Marshall threw the door open and stood in shock when he saw Tawni's "present."

"Come on, Marshall, help!" Tawni snapped him back. Marshall nodded and quickly pushed all of the papers on his desk to the ground and patted the wood, signaling Tawni to lay Sonny down. Tawni quickly followed his directions and gently set Sonny down on his desk.

"What – happened?" Marshall looked up to Tawni while assessing the damages on Sonny. He could feel she was cold, even though it was quite warm outside that day. He did not want to even touch her, though, because he felt as if any slight touch would break her completely.

"I was coming out to see you, and she was standing in the doorway. Then we hugged and she fainted. Oh my gosh, did I kill her, Marshall?"

"Relax, Tawni, she just passed out. Where are the others?"

"They're coming with supplies," Tawni explained just as the boys flew through the doors with blankets, a pillow, and a stack of towels. Zora crept in a moment later with a bucket and two gallon jugs of water. Everyone looked at her questioningly as to where she found the gallon jugs, but she assured them the cafeteria let her have them. While Tawni used the towel and the water to wipe down Sonny's face, Nico covered Sonny with the blankets, Grady tucked the pillow under her head, and Marshall stepped out to call an ambulance.

Slowly, encouraged by the cool liquid against her face, Sonny opened her eyes and looked around at everyone.

"Sonny," everyone exclaimed softly.

"Sonny, how are you feeling?" Tawni dabbed softly at her head wound.

"I'm excellent," Sonny assured, giving no assurance to anyone.

"So I need to know. We all need to know. Who kidnapped you?"

"Do _not_ answer that question, Sonny," Marshall burst back into the room. "I know you probably want to, and there will be time to, but we cannot discuss these matters without the police present." Marshall lightly made a barrier between Sonny and everyone else. "Sonny, I am going to ask you some questions. Do you think you can answer them?" Sonny nodded. "What year is it?"

"Two-thousand nine," Sonny looked steadily at him.

"What day is it?"

"I don't know. I lost track a long time ago."

"Who am I?"

"Marshall," she declared knowingly.

"Sonny Monroe," Mr. Condor opened the door and towered above her. Sonny winced, afraid to be yelled at. She was sure she caused the studio a lot of drama, loss of money, and not to mention the fight she had gotten involved in. Marshall stepped back, not wanting to get in the way of his boss and everyone stood back, holding their breaths and praying for the safety of their jobs. Mr. Condor was known to fire people on the days their children were born, days they got into car accidents, and days when their spouses leave them. Why would he hold back today?

"Y-Yes, Mr. Condor?" Sonny looked up at him, unable to read his expression.

"Are you all right?" Mr. Condor bent down on one knee to be at face level with Sonny. Everyone was shocked when they saw how pristine his new suit was, and the fact that he would put it on the ground was unthinkable.

"Yes, Mr. Condor, I'll be fine. I'm just tired and worn out. And…" Sonny drifted off, unsure whether to tell him. "I…I think my arm may be broken."

"Let's see it," Mr. Condor slowly pulled the blanket back and looked at her left arm right in front of him. "Yes, that is definitely how Dakota's arm looked when she fell out of a tree." Mr. Condor slowly placed the blanket back over her. "But the paramedics are on their way, and that will heal up quickly.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from outside the building. Sonny could only count the seconds before the paramedics raced into the room. Whether or not the paparazzi outside knew who they were there for, Sonny was sure they all wanted to know who was going to be carried out on a stretcher. Unfortunately, it was her.

"Miss Monroe?" one of the paramedics began to shine a bright light in her eyes. "My name is Danny, and I'm going to be your primary caretaker until we reach the hospital. If you have any questions about anything that is going on, just ask me, and I'll tell you exactly how it is. This is my partner, Sarah. She will be assisting me with everything we do today. Miss Monroe, are you feeling light headed, nauseous, achy, or confused?"

"She passed out," Tawni spoke up before Sonny could.

"And I don't feel too good. My stomach is kind of upset."

Danny whispered a few words to Sarah about what he suspected happened. "Okay, Miss Monroe, we're going to lift you onto this bed right here. It may hurt since we were told you may have a broken arm. We're going to do this on the count of three, and it will be over before you know it. One…two…"

"Don't lift her!" A set of three police officers ran into the room. Marshall's office had suddenly become over packed and Mr. Condor motioned for the kids to wait outside. "We have to take a series of pictures as well as ask Miss Monroe some very important questions about her kidnapping."

"Can't this wait until she's at the hospital?" Danny argued for Sonny. Sarah tried to assure Sonny everything was going to be fine and softly dabbed Sonny's face with the wet rag while keeping a careful watch on her pulse.

"No, this must be handled as soon as possible," one police officer who seemed to be the leader of the three spoke.

"This goes against all protocol. The police always take over once the patient is safely settled in the hospital and is in a stable, sober state. Her wounds and memories aren't going to disappear in the next two hours. You need to let us do our job first, and then you can do yours – just like it always goes."

"We have direct orders from the chief not to let Miss Monroe leave this premises until we have taken photographic evidence of her abuse and have a solid base of her story. It will take fifteen minutes, tops."

"We may not have fifteen minutes," Danny insisted. "She has already fainted once. We do not know what kind of toxins have built up in her system which would have caused unconsciousness. It is vital that we get her to the hospital _now_."

"Son," the police officer, who was indeed older than Danny, "if you don't step down right now, I'm going to have to arrest you for interfering with police investigation of a felonious crime. Do you really want that on your record?"

"Sonny Monroe is my patient. Her health is the number one concern at this time. I'm sure the public will agree with me on that."

"Fine, you leave me no choice," the police officer began to reach for his handcuffs.

"Guys, her pulse is racing, stop fighting," Sarah ordered. "Danny, just let them take the stupid pictures so we can get her out of here. We can investigate the politics of this situation afterwards." Danny, continuing to glare down the policemen, reluctantly stepped aside and allowed them to approach Sonny.

"Hello, Miss Monroe. My name is Officer Buck; this is Officers Hunt and Fitman. We just need a few pictures and then I'm going to ask a couple questions which I need you to be completely truthful of. Okay?" The office stepped forward and lost his rough exterior. Sonny nodded. "You," Officer Buck pointed to Sarah. "I need your help." Sarah stepped forward again, ready to take direction.

Sonny lay on the table, terrified by what was happening. After all of the hospital, the crime investigation, and the law shows she had watched, this broke every routine known to man. She barely knew these people, they barely knew her, and they were all acting as if they were the hands of God, choosing between life and death. She wondered what was really more important to them – saving her life, or hunting down the person who took her. Did the politics really take a precedent to her safety? Perhaps the Chief of Police knew how much publicity they would be getting from the case, and he wanted to make sure he had all of the facts down straight.

"I need you to remove her shirt," the officer ordered Sarah as he drew the blanket back. He knew it would make Sonny way too uncomfortable for a male to do it. Sarah pulled out a pair of fabric cutters from her medical bag and began to cut away at Sonny's shirt, exposing the spectrum of wounds covering her body. He collected a few pictures of her legs, the mass of bruises all over her torso, the cut on her head, the red circles around both ankles and both her wrists, the cuts in the corners of her mouth, and her broken arm. He noted the needle wounds on both arms, but refused to let Sonny explain what happened. He said they were not speaking on the record and she needed to save all information until she knew her rights.

"Am I being arrested?" Sonny asked nervously.

"Why would we arrest you?"

"I got involved in the fight and then I had opportunities to come home but I didn't."

"Miss Monroe, again, I need you to keep all details to yourself until I can tell you your rights – as the innocent party," he added this time.

"What are those red circles from?" Mr. Condor asked, visibly upset by the sight in front of him. Marshall stood there in terror as well. Who could have done this to someone as innocent as the sweet, little girl from Wisconsin?

"She was bound, and gagged, likely for a long period of time. We often see skin irritation from materials keeping constant, unnatural contact with the skin. It was probably a rope or duct tape. By the looks of it, I would say duct tape adhesive irritation," Officer Buck spoke nonchalantly. He acted as if he had seen it all before.

"Okay, Miss Monroe. Just a few questions, and then I will let these nice people take you to the hospital. You only have to answer 'yes' or 'no' to these questions. I will be back to see you, probably later tonight or early tomorrow to get your full statement. You do not _have_ to answer any of our questions, but it would be greatly appreciated if you did." Sonny nodded again in understanding. "Were you kidnapped?"

"Yes," Sonny regretfully stated.

"Did you know your captor?"

"Yes."

"Were you sexually violated in anyway? Actions, comments, or gestures?"

"No."

"Were you physically abused at any time during your captivity?"

"No," Sonny answered firmly. Officer Buck stared at her, questioningly, along with every other person in the room.

"Miss Monroe, I need you to answer these questions completely honestly or choose not to reply. We cannot have false information."

"I was not abused," Sonny insisted. "These bruises were not from someone. There was an accident." Sonny closed her eyes, wishing to not remember the crunching metal, the feeling of being thrown up and down in the small space, or the pain and fear which racked her body. She remembered the whimpering which escaped her as Chad opened the trunk. She had never been more afraid in her life.

"Okay," Officer Buck nodded and jotted down a few notes. He put a side not that Sonny may have some psychological trauma and probably needed a psych-consult after treatment. "You may take her now," Officer Buck acknowledged Danny. "But listen here, son, if you ever try to stop police action again, I'm going to take you in and you'll never work in medicine again."

Danny bit his tongue to help Sonny faster. "Okay," he smiled down at Sonny who seemed shaken by the police investigation. "Let's try this again. We're going to lift you on three. One…two…three!" Danny and Sarah quickly picked her up, but she could not hold in a grunt from the pain. "All done," Danny assured, strapping her down to the stretcher. "Come on; let's get you to the hospital."

The three officers stuck around to help the paramedics in getting Sonny through the crowd. Without them, the paparazzi would have easily separated the paramedics from Sonny's gurney and have viciously attacked her with questions of their own.

"We need to cover her," Mr. Condor declared. "Her condition is too severe. We don't need the rumors created by them getting pictures of her bruised and beaten."

"Good idea," Marshall acknowledged and pulled one of the blankets from his desk as they walked down the long hallway to the entrance. "Sonny," Marshall looked down. "If you're okay with it, we're just going to put this over your head. All right?"

"All right, Marshall," Sonny smiled as he placed the blanket over her torso and Danny proceeded to push her outside.

Sonny could see the flashes of cameras even through the thick blanket, but from the questions being asked, she realized the press still had no idea she was the one underneath.

"I'm sorry, folks, but she has to ride alone today," Danny announced as Mr. Condor began to climb into the back of the ambulance – as was standard procedure when someone at the studio was injured. He was technically in charge of everyone's safety and part of that duty required him to oversee medical treatment before the actor's legal guardian could take over.

"What?" Mr. Condor stepped down. "They're always allowed to have a passenger. It's her legal right!"

"Not this time, sir," Danny tried to keep the situation under control. He knew the hospital would also be under scrutiny with the situation and he did not want a scene going down right in from of the entire press corps. "We've been given direct orders to bring her to the hospital alone, you can meet her there. We don't know what kind of information she will say along the way, and we're trying to keep a minimum amount of people hearing these details. I'm sorry." Danny turned away as Sarah shut the door. They signaled to the driver and the ambulance slowly started moving through the crowd, leaving Mr. Condor and Marshall to be attacked by paparazzi.

***

"Excuse me," Connie scurried over to the nurse's desk. "My daughter, Sonny Monroe, is here. Is she okay? Is my baby okay?"

"Mrs. Monroe, they're still bringing her in right now. Why don't you take a seat and we'll call for you when she comes," the nurse gestured to the overcrowded waiting room.

"She's not here? Well what is taking them so long? It's been almost forty-five minutes since I got the call she was home!"

"Mrs. Monroe, there were apparently a couple delays along the way. But if you'll just sit down, we'll call for you when she comes."

Connie was angry. Did this woman not know her child had been kidnapped and missing for the last few weeks? And yet she had the nerve to speak with her like any other adult in that waiting room. Where was Sonny?

Suddenly, a team of paramedics rushed through the doors leaving a mob of paparazzi outside. When they withdrew the blanket at the nurse's desk, Connie saw exactly who was underneath.

"That's her! That's my Sonny. Sonny!" Connie ran forward but was held back by security guards. "Unhand me. I have a right to be with my daughter right now."

"Mrs. Monroe, I apologize," the nurse stood up to speak with Connie, finally looking sympathetic. "But the situation is larger than I expected. You are going to have to wait a little longer. Can I get you a coffee or anything?"

"L-Longer?" Connie felt like she wanted to fall apart. "But…I just got her back."

***

"I want my mom," Sonny begged weakly when they passed through the doors but her mom had not followed. "I need her."

"Miss Monroe, because this is a criminal investigation at this point, the doctors must run a full scale inspection and your mother will be allowed to see you shortly. One hour at the most," one of the ER nurses explained.

"One hour?"

"I'm sorry, but it's just regulations."

***

"Has she not arrived yet?" Marshall rushed through the door with the rest of the cast.

"They won't let me see her," Connie tried to keep her voice strong. Marshall shook his head.

"This is ridiculous!" Mr. Condor raged. "The chaos and complete disregard for her natural rights have been stepped on and crushed. Don't worry, Connie, we're going to file complaint after complaint until someone hears us."

"Mr. Condor, that's okay. But you saw her right? You talked with her? Is she doing all right?"

"Yes, we did speak with her. She seems to be in good spirits."

"Good," Connie nodded and wrapper her arms around herself.

By now, the entire press core had determined it was indeed Sonny that was brought in. The indisputable evidence of the entire cast of _So Random_ and then Connie shouting 'That's my Sonny' was all they needed to start reporting.

***

"Mrs. Monroe?" A doctor in a long, white lab coat walked into the waiting room. "You may see her now, but we have to take her for some more tests in about an hour, so make sure you say what needs to be said."

"Can we come in too?" Tawni questioned.

"I'm sorry, miss, but due to the outrageous circumstances, only immediate family will be permitted to see her for at least twenty-four hours. I suggest that you all maybe should go home, get some rest, and come back tomorrow when the bulk of the investigation is through and tests are run," the doctor explained.

Tawni did not reply, but only stared him down like she wanted to kill him as he led Connie through the double doors.

"Now, Mrs. Monroe, I need to explain what you're going to see. Sonny is very dehydrated and malnourished. She is currently on several IV's as well as receiving oxygen in her nose. Her body is covered in bruises and cuts. She does not look good, but she seems attentive and alert for the most part. We are still running some tox-screens because her vitals show that something is going awry." Connie tried to control her body from shaking as she heard the description of her precious little girl. "Also, she broke her radius which is the top forearm bone. We have it casted currently. Are you ready?"

Connie assented and the doctor opened the door.

"Mom!" Sonny called out when she saw the woman standing in the doorway. Trying not to see her daughter's condition, Connie darted forward and gathered Sonny in a huge hug. Everything down Sonny's body hurt from the hug, but she did not care. Being with her mom again was all that mattered.

"Look at you," Connie let out a small laugh and a smile while tears began to tumble from her eyes. She had not imagined herself laughing when looking at her daughter so beaten, but the joy of having Sonny back in her arms overwhelmed all other emotions. The bruises and cuts were temporary, but she would always have her daughter.

"I missed you, mom. I'm sorry I called and got you worried. I'm sorry all of this happened."

"It's not your fault about what happened. And if I thought you had the chance to call, but didn't, I would be so angry at you right now! Even though the call didn't go as expected, I cannot tell you the comfort it brought knowing that you were still alive. When the authorities decided to drop the level of the search, when they said you were likely dead, I just lost it. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I couldn't be around people, and I just prayed and prayed and prayed that you were still out there and that you hadn't left me."

"I'll never leave you, mom," Sonny assured her mother.

A nurse snuck into the room quietly and handed Sonny's chart, "Doctor, the tox-screen is back. You should probably take a look at it." The doctor quickly flipped through the charts as Connie and Sonny talked quietly.

"Miss Monroe, sorry to interrupt, but I have to ask you some important questions right now," the doctor urged. Connie grabbed Sonny's hand for support. "Just so you know, these questions are for medical purposes only, and will not be used against you in any way during the investigation, so I need you to answer completely truthfully. Miss Monroe, your injuries show you were bound up, but were you bound in a small space – a trunk perhaps – for an excruciatingly long period of time?"

Sonny blanched. She had wished her mother did not have to hear the truth at that moment. "Yes," she stated. Connie's body shuttered and she closed her eyes to keep the image out of her head. "I was in a trunk for almost the entire time I was gone."

"And how often were you permitted to go to the bathroom?"

"Once a day…at the most," Sonny hesitated to say the words. It had not seemed so horrible while it was actually happening, but reporting the events made it sound as if she had been tortured.

"All right, Miss Monroe, you are experiencing early renal failure. By being kept in a bent up and bound position, lactic acid built up, and when you were allowed to release that position finally, all of the lactic acid went straight to your kidneys. Also, without being able to use the bathroom frequently enough, certain toxins from your urine built up and contaminated your bloodstream and therefore kidneys. We are going to start you on dialysis immediately. This was probably the cause of you passing out and the sickness you were experiencing. You're going to be all right, Miss Monroe, but we're lucky. We caught this just in time."

"Thank you, doctor," Connie finally spoke when she realize Sonny was too much in shock to speak. "It's going to be okay, Sonny, you're going to be fine."

"I…" Sonny stammered. "I just never thought it was that bad."

***

One week later, Sonny was sitting up in her hospital bed, laughing with Tawni who sat in the chair next to her. The day after Sonny had arrived at the hospital, she was forced to give the entire story of everything that happened while she was with Chad. She regrettably told several lawyers and police officers that Chad Dylan Cooper was the person who took her. She told them every detail of how he kept her in the trunk, how she had gotten sick and he found her help, about the accident which gave her all of the injuries, and finally about how he had left her while he ran off to Mexico.

She told them he took her to a friend's house that was able to help her through her time of illness. The officers demanded and yelled at Sonny for her to tell them the names of the friends. Sonny held back, though. She did not want to get Aiden or Ari in trouble – especially since Ari had saved her life and Aiden had given her so much of his time and attention.

Government officials were still debating on whether they would track him down or let him go. Connie still said she would not press charges upon Sonny's personal request, but the District Attorney had other plans. Just because the Monroe's did not want to press charges, did not mean the State would not. The D.A. talked about possibly making it a federal case as well since he crossed so many state lines and then finally the border.

Through a constant stream of intravenous care, Sonny had slowly become rehydrated and received many of the nutrients her body was lacking. The dialysis quickly cleaned up her system and she was left with only oral medication to ensure she stayed healthy.

"Hey, Tawni," Sonny began to whisper, pulling Tawni's attention closer. "Is it possible for you to get me a copy of one of the major publishing magazines? My mom won't let me anywhere near the media, but I have to see what they're saying."

"Sure!" Tawni agreed, even though they were breaking Connie's direct orders. Tawni quickly scurried out to the gift store and brought back three different magazines. One was published the day Sonny returned, another from the middle of the week when Sonny's report had leaked to the press, and the last from that morning.

The first cover showed the predicted, 'Sonny Monroe Returns Safely but Injured to Condor Studios.' The second, had pictures from hospital security cameras which an unknown security guard sold to the different media companies and announced details from Sonny's report.

But the third was the one which showed the true evils of the media. 'Stockholm Syndrome Sonny: Sonny Monroe sympathizes for captor/abuser Chad Dylan Cooper.'

"Stockholm Syndrome, what's that?" Sonny looked up.

"Apparently, when people are kidnapped or held hostage, they get to know their captor and they begin to want to protect them. Well _you_ have it!"

"I do not. I felt bad for Chad _before_ we spent a lot of time together. Besides, it's not like we spent a ton of time together anyways. If there's anything I should be sympathizing unnecessarily for, it's the trunk which got crushed in the accident. Poor trunk"

"You're just lucky you didn't get crushed too," Tawni declared.

"Hey girls," Connie entered.

"Hey…mom," Sonny quickly shoved the forbidden magazines under her covers.

"So, I was talking with your doctor," Connie slowly drug out her sentence, "And he said, maybe, perhaps, if you really wanted to…"

"What?!" Sonny shouted excitedly.

"You can come home!"

"What about the show? When can she come back?" Tawni asked anxiously. Mr. Condor had finally let up and allowed them to put on a show over the weekend she was in the hospital, but whether or not there would be another show that weekend was still undecided.

"The doctor said once you leave, you are free to do whatever you wish, but Sonny, I was hoping you might stay home this week."

"Sure, mom," Sonny smiled, knowing her mother only wanted to stuff her with food and for them to spend some time together.

"I did have a little chat with Mr. Condor, though," Connie began to explain to both girls. "And he agreed to let the other four of you have another show this week. He was starting to get nervous with cancelling so many shows."

"Nah," Tawni shrugged, "It's good publicity. It makes people want us!"

"Are you ready? I brought you some new clothing from home," Connie set jeans and a t-shirt down on the end of the bed. I'll be right outside the door if you need me."

"I don't know how you managed to stand being in that horrible boy-clothing all this time. It was hideous!"

"Yeah, but it was good tied-up-in-a-trunk clothing and it actually a girl's athletic wear. And besides, I couldn't see its hideousness in the dark anyway!" Sonny laughed. Between her, Connie, and all of their friends, the topic of Sonny's kidnapping had been talked about so much, that they were all able to refer to it freely and even jokingly.

"Ew! You put on clothing that someone else _sweat_ in?" Tawni shrieked.

"Well, I had already sweat through all of my clothing, and I rather had been in dry, sweat-filled clothing than wet sweat-filled clothing."

Tawni stood and began to caress Sonny's face with her hand, "You poor thing. I'm so sorry."

"Thank you, Tawni, now leave! I want to get dressed and get out of here."

"Sonny Monroe, we have shared a dressing room for _how long_? And you really need me to leave?" Tawni teased while slowly stepping towards the door."

"Tawni," Sonny whined, forcing the blonde out of the room. Finally, with the first bit of alone time that week, Sonny sighed and closed her eyes. Between the doctors, the nurses, the police officers, her mother, and her friends, the last bit of quietness Sonny could remember was being in the trunk.

Her left arm was covered in a bright pink cast. She looked over the various signatures. She had Tawni's, Nico's, Grady's, Zora's, Marshall's, her mom's, Mr. Condor's, the entire cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ (who had been respectful enough to visit her twice during the week to apologize for Chad and bring her gifts), as well as many other famous teen actors whose hearts broke for her. She knew if she ever decided to sell the cast, it could go for several hundred thousand dollars.

She looked at her right arm, but could not take her eyes off the red ring around her wrist. She was sure someone would accuse her of cutting and someone else would say she wanted Chad to do it. The Hollywood rumors were vicious.

At last, Sonny called for her mother and Tawni to return, but Tawni had to return to the studios to begin working on new sketches.

The paparazzi attacked mother and daughter with personal questions which neither had any intention of responding to. Sonny was wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair by a nurse, even though she was capable of walking. After receiving minimal physical and therapeutic therapy to her weakened legs, she was back to normal working order. Sonny loved the white sweatshirt her mother had brought. For the first time she was warm and comfortable all at the same time.

The nurse and Connie worked together to settle Sonny comfortably into the front seat of her Connie's car, as security guards held the maniacal journalists back.

Turning Sonny's favorite radio station on to a low volume, Connie turned on the engine and adjusted her mirrors. "Are you ready, baby girl?"

"I'm ready, mom," Sonny, gave a huge smile, excited to return to their apartment.

"Then let's go home."

_Home_. _Home_ was nice. _Home _was wonderful. _Home _was safe. She was going _home_.


	15. Nightmares Become Reality

**So this is only part one of two parts of the final chapter. The final chapter was going on and on and on with no end in sight, and I really wanted to send out an update since it's been over two weeks. So don't worry, this is not the last update! Hopefully the final part will be out soon! Thank you for reading! Enjoy!!!!!

* * *

**

Sonny shot up out of bed, hugging her teddy bear, and trying to muffle her cries in its head. Unfortunately, she was not fast enough, for her mother came running through the door and flicked the light on.

"Shhh, it's okay, baby," Connie wrapped her arms around a shaking Sonny. "It's okay, it was just a dream. It was just another dream." Connie worried horribly about Sonny. For the last two weeks, Sonny awoke just about every night with a horrible dream. She would always ask if Sonny wanted to talk about it. Most nights Sonny said no, and other nights all she would say was 'Chad' before deciding not to divulge anymore.

Tonight was no different. Sonny had her nightmare, Connie came running in to comfort her, and she refused to say anything about the dream. After getting Sonny to calm down and after turning off the lights, Connie sat at her daughter's bedside and gently stroked Sonny's back until the small girl had fallen asleep. Once she had, Connie quietly excused herself and returned to her own room to salvage the rest of her night for sleeping.

But Sonny was not asleep. She worried about her mother waking up every night and losing her own sleep. It was not fair for her mom to suffer from something she was a part of – if not caused by her.

Sonny slipped out of her warm bed, opened her window, and stepped out onto the cold fire escape. The moon was bright and full, illuminating the whole world with its light.

"Chad, where are you?" Sonny looked out at the sky. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you. Please forgive me."

***

"Dr. Carmen, I'm afraid she's only getting worse. It was one thing when she just sympathized for the boy, but now she's plagued by these horrible, horrible nightmares. I'm afraid he did something even worse to her than what she's sharing with us, yet she still insists she wants his immunity reserved for if he ever returns," Connie spoke to the doctor.

"Well, why don't you send her on in and I'll see what I can find out. You could probably go home. I'll send her home with a bus token when she's done."

***

No one ever scolded her when she was a child for playing with the boys. She loved to play tag on the playground, especially with the boys. She had her girlfriends but they were never any good at strategy. The boys would corner her down until she was tagged 'it,' and while she was the attacker, they would go do the same to another victim, to another friend. Silly games were always enjoyable, neutral, and no one ever cared about the gender.

But then they grew up. She matured mentally and physically, and people told her all the boys ever did was the latter. Being around boys was taboo – something to be feared, enjoyed, gossiped, and forbidden. Running and jumping with the boys made her a tomboy, talking with them made her promiscuous and flirtatious, and if she ever had wanted to play another game of tag, everyone would be horrified by boys holding a girl down and reaching out to touch her. Nothing was like it used to be.

"And that's why you don't want to turn him in – because you're trying to break the norm and return to that childhood bliss?" Dr. Carmen wrote notes down on her clipboard.

"No, that's not it. I've told you why. He was scared, he made a stupid choice, and I don't want him penalized for it. I'm just tired of the tabloids going crazy over rumors and gossip about what he may have done to me while I was with him. No one believes that a boy and a girl can just coexist!" Sonny ranted. "They say I'm in denial, they say I'm forcing myself to forget about something horrible."

"Are you?" Dr. Carmen stared her down; excited Sonny was finally opening up.

"No," Sonny drew out the word, seeming to hide something in her tone.

"Sonny," the doctor said sternly.

"I'm not! Chad did nothing to me except take care of me when I was hurt. When the duct tape irritated my lips, he got me a bandana. When I got hungry, he fed me. When I had to go to the bathroom, he let me out. When I was sick, he found me a doctor. When I got hurt, he got me help. I don't understand why I am supposed to be mad at him."

"Sonny, why did the duct tape irritate your lips? Because Chad put it there to keep you from screaming. Why did you get hungry? Because Chad kept you for incredible amounts of time without giving you anything at all. Why did you have to go to the bathroom? Because Chad kept you somewhere you couldn't go to the bathroom even if you had braved it. Why did you get sick? Because Chad neglected to care for you properly and ignored your needs. Why did you get hurt? Because Chad had you tied up in the trunk of a car when you got into an accident. Sonny, he may have taken good care of you when bad things happened, but did he not cause those things to happen?"

"Dr. Carmen, I'm not denying he was wrong. I told him that from the first night we talked. There were periods I _hated_ him more than anyone else in the world. Sometimes I feared him. But mostly I just wanted to be with him. That is, I believe, was the main reason I got so angry. The time I was out of the trunk, I was happy and calm and collected. At first I thought it was because I was out of that darn trunk, but that's _not_ what I felt with Justin."

"And Justin was the boy who saved you?"

"Save isn't exactly the term I would use, but yes. When I was with him, I felt the same horror, sickness, and pain. It's taken me all this time to realize it, but when I was out of the trunk, I was happy because I was with Chad. When I was locked in the trunk, it was Chad who shut _himself_ away – away from me. He held me up when my legs were too weak to function on their own. When I was in his arms, I felt a flood of safety wash over me. It's the kind I felt when my mother would wrap her arms around me after I had a nightmare when I was a child, or when I'm with a group of my best friends and I know no matter what happens, they will always be there for me. Dr. Carmen, call me crazy, but I do not think of him as my captor at all."

"Sonny, I'm not going to call you crazy," Dr. Carmen was writing down notes as quickly as her hand could move. "And I don't think that you think you're crazy either."

"Then why am I here? It's for the Stockholm Syndrome – isn't it? Well let me tell you this, I'm not going to hate Chad just because you and everyone else think I should."

"I've told you this before, Sonny, Stockholm Syndrome is not something that can be cured. It is simply an explanation, a term, used to understand why people sympathize for those who hurt them. It's similar to hostages feeling bad for the robbers because the robbers are only doing what they are to feed their children. Or an abused wife not wanting the cops to take her husband away because the man has shown her his dark past and she knows he only suffers from a scarred childhood. You cannot be born with nor can you develop Stockholm Syndrome. In a way, everyone has it. It is in our nature to only see one side of the story – the bad side. People only want to see the Chad Dylan Cooper who shoves puppies and kidnaps poor, defenseless girls from Wisconsin. What people don't want to see is the scared, teenage boy on the inside who has been given everything in the world and doesn't know how to handle the power. But when people do take a second glance and see the vulnerability inside the horrible person, their hearts burst open. You saw that side of him, Sonny, and your heart is already more open than many."

"Then if I'm not crazy, why am I here still? You've already determined any PTSD I'm experiencing is only minor. Why am I still coming every two days?" Sonny questioned.

"Your mother is worried about the nightmares."

"Nightmares? What nightmares? I've been sleeping very well. Incredibly in fact! My bed feels like a giant hug after not have a bed at all for so long."

"Sonny, don't lie to me – there's no need to. You know I won't tell the paparazzi about anything we discuss. It's okay to open up to me. Our confidentiality will hold strong forever. Just tell me about these dreams."

"Okay," Sonny broke down, closing her eyes, afraid to remember the horrible images.

"You know I hate doing this to you, Sonny," Chad shook his head as he threw another shovel-load of dirt onto the plastic box. It was the plastic box which you could somewhat see out of. The one which was a little bigger than a person. The one which had its hinges and lock on the outside of the box. The one sitting in a six-foot hole in the ground. The one that had Sonny Monroe locked inside. "I don't like it, Sonny, but you always leave me with no choice. Do you understand?" Chad threw more dirt on top of her.

"Chad, stop, please!" Sonny screamed, tears of fear pouring down her face. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Her arms were wedged against the top of the box, pushing as hard as she could.

"It's no use, Sonny, you had your chance, but you left me. You abandoned the chance of saving me. In the end, Sonny Monroe, everyone is going to lose you." Chad continued to pile dirt on top of Sonny until all six feet were recovered. "Goodbye, Sonny." Chad threw a yellow rose onto her makeshift grave.

"Chad, Chad," Sonny pounded on her plastic coffin. The light was completely shut out and she was left lying in complete darkness. "Chad…" Sonny's voice finally began to fade off after what seemed like no time at all. She found her breath becoming shallow in insufficient. Sonny closed her eyes as the oxygen in the tank slowly became depleted. Taking one final breath, Sonny was gone.

"But he didn't do anything like that," Sonny insisted. "There was one time I even remember him apologizing for taking me."

"Sonny, I don't think your dream had anything to do with physical abuse," Dr. Carmen clicked her pen repeatedly. "You said that Chad, in your dream, said you abandoned him. Have you had any other dreams similar?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Sonny, I need to understand these dreams a little better before I can help you with them."

"Fine. He had me in the trunk again, but he was holding me by my shirt and then he punched me after yelling at me. I was covered in bruises from head to toe, and it would only take one more strike to finish me."

"What did he say to you?"

"He said that he had given me a chance. He said he had begged for my help but I ignored him and turned a blind eye to his pain. Then he hit me. He punched me. That's when I woke up."

"When did this dream take place?"

"When I was with Justin."

"Were there any others?"

"Yes, quite a few actually. My mom's right, I should have talked to you about them."

"Do you feel better having talked about them?"

"Not really, but I know that talking to you about them will help get rid of them and help to get me back to normal. Then I can stop taking these," Sonny pulled a bottle of anti-anxiety pills from her purse.

"How many have you taken?"

"Just two since I saw you a couple days ago. The first was when I was at Condor Studios immediately after our meeting, I walked through the spot where it had happened and I felt as though I was going to have a breakdown. The other time was yesterday when I was taking a taxi home from the dinner place Tawni had taken me to. It was raining so some guy offered to share a cab and pay for the whole trip himself. I don't know if he recognized me, but I took it as a kind gesture and got in with him. He did not talk to me that much, but between him and the male driver, I could feel my heartbeat begin to race, and I had horrible images of the bad things that happened when I was gone. I had to take one as soon I got home."

"Did it help?"

"Yes, but I fell asleep shortly after anyways."

"Let's get back to you and Chad. You said you feel _safe_ with him, and yet you're experiencing random anxiety attacks whenever you think about him or are around someone who's like him. How much have you been thinking about him?"

"He's all I think about. And right when I am able to stop, someone brings the topic back up. I think I need a vacation."

"You know what I think? I think you need Chad."

"Excuse me?"

"Sonny, you have strong feelings for that boy. And they didn't just come around by this kidnapping. Sonny, you cannot look me in the eyes and honestly tell me you do not love him." Sonny froze at Dr. Carmen's words. "I have almost the entire story down in notes except for one part. And that's where he leaves you in the trunk and runs off." Dr. Carmen flipped through her notes which were nicely ordered in a binder – almost full at this point. "All you have ever shared with anyone is that he told you he was leaving and then he was gone."

"That's what happened," Sonny insisted.

"So if what you have told me is true, he took care of you whenever you needed him, but immediately after the accident, he looked at you, broken, bloody, possibly unconscious, and hanging onto any little piece of life you could, and he walked away. Sonny, if he was the kind of person who would do that, then you would not be protecting him right now."

"I mean, that's not _all_ he did."

"Sonny, will you please tell me? This is a critical portion of your kidnapping. You need to stop pretending like nothing happened. You're an actress, and you're really good at pretending. The people tell you that you're never supposed show weakness. I'm giving you permission right now to pull down those walls and let me through. Please."

Sonny squeezed her eyes together, demanding her tears to stop at the eyelids, but her body was not obeying her this time. Dr. Carmen's words about the accident – broken, bloody, unconscious, and hanging on – brought back the horrible memory of being thrown about the trunk and thinking for sure she was dead.

Dr. Carmen reached out and rested her hand on Sonny's knee to show her support as she allowed the girl to cry.

"I was so scared," Sonny finally brought herself back, "I thought I was dead…and everything hurt so badly. My arm was broken," Sonny held up the casted arm as evidence. "And I was so scared I felt like I couldn't breathe. Then Chad came around. He was almost as scared as I was. But he wasn't scared because he had almost died; he was scared because _I_ almost died. He apologized and told me he was headed towards the border. Then I kissed him."

"You what?" Dr. Carmen choked, forgetting her professionalism.

"I kissed him he kissed me back and…"

"And…" the adult pushed.

"And I knew then that I loved him. I loved him, I loved him, I loved him!" Sonny shouted, standing to her feet with a few remaining tears streaking her face. "Oh my God," she clasped her mouth. "I love him."

"I believe you do, Sonny." Dr. Carmen stood with Sonny to look her in the eyes.

"But I can't love him. Look what he did to me. He's the cause for my nightmares."

"But…" Dr. Carmen led on again, seeing the hesitation in Sonny's expression.

"But he also saved me. He could have kept me from the hospital after the accident. He could have taken me with him and let me die. He saved my life." Sonny suddenly became lightheaded and her face flushed as her breathing became shallow.

"Sonny, sit down," the doctor gestured. "I think this is enough for today, you did a great job, I'm very proud of you." Sonny continued to hyperventilate as memories exploded inside her head and her true feelings and thoughts broke through. "Here," Dr. Carmen ran to get Sonny a glass of water and pulled one of the anxiety pills from Sonny's purse. Sonny took it reluctantly but quickly and she felt the medication cut the edge of her anxiety. "Sonny, remember this before I send you on your way. No one can tell you who you are, what to think, or how to feel. If you really do love Chad, and you didn't just say that because of the emotional hysteria which can take place in my office, then you hold onto that feeling. Don't let someone tell you it's wrong, okay?" Sonny nodded. "Now, here's a bus token, and here's another prescription for a light sleeping pill. It will help you to get more sleep; I can tell you're exhausted. Go home, get some rest, and I'll see you in two days, okay?"

"Thank you, Dr. Carmen," Sonny grabbed the woman in a hug, remorsefully grabbed the prescription slip and made her way down the hall to the on-site pharmacy.

When she entered the small drug store, the pharmacist quickly took her slip and walked to the back to measure out her prescription. Sonny looked up at the small television in the corner. The pharmacist had HLN on with Nancy Grace shouting about yet another one of her suspects. Sonny eagerly wondered to see which case she was discussing, though it did not take long for her to realize it was hers.

"And _why_ can I ask is no one looking at the cast mate of Chad Dylan Cooper? His name is Ferguson Michaels. When interviewed by CNN's Larry King Live, this is what he had to say about Sonny Monroe's kidnapping before she was returned home."

"So, Ferguson," Larry began, "Did you ever actually see who took Miss Monroe?" Obviously he was hinting to Chad. "Why don't you tell us everything you can remember."

"Well, Chad and I were fighting over something stupid. It was getting really heated, and I was baiting him, almost more than he was me. I saw Sonny running towards us and then Chad hit me. When I woke up, they were both gone."

"Now I'm sorry," Nancy took over the screen, "But that sounds like a confession to me! He talked about being more responsible than Chad Dylan Cooper in the fight but isn't it just convenient for him to be knocked out seconds before Monroe's kidnapping? I mean seriously! He's an actor, you'd think he'd be able to hide it a little better. I think the DA needs to get her head out of her bottom and start looking at the people she can prosecute instead of the one she can't and has been asked not to."

Sonny shook her head in frustration as the pharmacist carried out her bag. "Funny, isn't it? She's been relentless with your entire case. She was all over Chad until she found out he really was the kidnapper, then she had to find a different twist. So, after finishing her I-told-you-so rants, she moved onto to Ferguson," the man explained.

"That's too bad. Ferguson was just as equally a victim as I. Well, thank you very much," Sonny stuffed the bottle into her purse and waved goodbye. Sonny knew to walk out the back door and behind the building until she was clear of the office. The paparazzi seemed to stay unaware of her attending therapy, and she wanted to keep it that way.

Digging through her purse, Sonny was struggling to find the bus token Dr. Carmen gave her. Dr. Carmen often gave her a bus token so her mother would not torture her with questions all the way home. Dr. Carmen also thought it was a good exercise for Sonny to be out on her own, with peace and quiet, building back her confidence from being around strangers.

Sonny just spotted the token when she crashed into something hard. Her prescription bottle fell out onto the open ground. Thankfully it stayed shut, but Sonny, realizing the thing she ran into was a person, dove to the ground to quickly pick up the bottle so no one would know she was on medication.

"I'm so sorry," Sonny shrieked, scrambling around.

"Here, let me help you with that," the person – a male – knelt down to help her pick everything up. But when he saw her wrist, scarred and red, he grabbed her hand, picked up the one bottle and pulled her to her feet. "Sonny?"

She finally got a chance to see who this friendly stranger was, but she was speechless.

"Sonny?" he spoke first, looking deep into her eyes.

"Chad?"


	16. Scars

**First of all, I would like to dedicate this story to the alumna who died earlier this year. You're were the best person I have ever known.**

**Secondly, I am SO SORRY this has taken so long. Between school, homework, and various events, I barely had enough time to sleep let alone write. But thank you to everyone who followed this story all the way through. A special thanks to SparkleInTheSun for advertising for this story as much as she did. And super special thank yous to everyone who reviewed. I hope you enjoyed the story and this final chapter!!!

* * *

**

Sonny's lip quivered and she was unsure if she was hallucinating from the anxiety pill she had just taken. He nodded softly – terrified she would push him away. Sonny had half the mind to do it, too. "I thought you were in Mexico?"

"Ari found me a couple weeks ago. She was worried about your health, apparently she missed something. When she found out you were home, she offered to stay with me until I was ready to return as well. I told her I wanted to, but it took a while for us to start moving. I've been trying to build up the nerve to come find you," Chad explained. "Have you been crying?"

"I, um, a little, but I'm okay, it was just…"

"Did it have anything to do with this?" Chad held up the medicine capsule. "It's my fault, isn't it? You're on this medication because of me, and that means you're going through therapy because of me. Sonny, I'm so sorry," Chad wrapped his arms around her so he would not have to look at her anymore.

"Chad," Sonny pushed him away extremely softly. He did not want to look at her, but she needed to look at him in the eyes when she addressed him. "Yes, I am in therapy, and yes, I do have to take this medication because of the trauma caused by the kidnapping. And yes, Chad, it is your fault. My doctor has taught me that I cannot pretend like you are not to blame."

"I understand," Chad turned to leave.

"Wait, I'm not done," Sonny reached out and grabbed his wrist with her unbroken arm. "But she has made me understand something else too."

"What's that?" Chad cringed. He believed she had changed her mind about not pressing any charges against him.

"I found, someone, Chad," Sonny dropped his hand but took a step closer to him. The bruises had begun to fade, but she was still obviously damaged. Make-up did a fabulous job of covering the reminders when there were interviews. That way, no one would know she was still suffering.

"Oh," Chad's face dropped. "I'm happy for you, Sonny, I'm sure he's perfect for you."

"He is," Sonny smiled sadistically, unsure if she could make him wait much longer. "He protects me, he makes me smile, and the thought of being without him just hurts so badly." Sonny pulled Chad closer to her so he would not run off again. "Dr. Carmen showed me that I really relied on him more than I could imagine. Even though we've only know one another for a handful of months, I love him."

"Do I know him?" Chad inhaled sharply, praying it was not someone at Condor Studios.

"I think you're getting to know him more and more every day." She grabbed his hands again, finally leaving only a few inches between them. She gazed up into his eyes, imploring him to ask the question.

"Who is it, Sonny?" Chad sounded half irritated – relinquishing to Sonny's demand.

"You," Sonny quickly pushed herself onto her toes and connected her lips with his. He immediately responded by leaning down into her so she would not have to force herself off the ground.

"No, this isn't right," Chad quickly pulled off and turned away so he would not have to stare at the beautiful mess. "We can't. They already think you're crazy for defending me. I won't let you ruin yourself by keeping you for myself."

"Chad, if you leave, you'll be hurting me more than anything that happened before."

"Sonny, you're not stable minded, I'm sorry," Chad quickly turned his head and gave a soft smile, "Goodbye." Chad picked up a slow jog, but it was just fast enough to keep Sonny – who was a bit lightheaded from the medication – from following him.

"Chad," Sonny felt as though she had shouted, but it came out as a mere whimper.

***

"Sonny!" A male's voice called out from behind her once she had entered the building the following morning. Sonny quickly spun around to see Ferguson running straight towards her.

"Ferguson!" Sonny cheered, allowing him to engulf her in a giant, teddy-bear-like hug. His face was nearly flawless, and no one could recognize anymore that he had been hit. "How are you?"

"How am I?" he stepped back and held her out at arm's length. "How are you? I have so much to be grateful for, Sonny. If it weren't for you, I don't know what kind of damage Chad would have further inflicted. Plus, if you hadn't gone missing, no one would have come out looking for us. You saved my life."

"Are you okay, though? Chad hit you really hard, and you were pretty unconscious."

"I'm fine. The doctor said nothing was broken, and after the bruising faded, it was like nothing ever happened – well almost nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"They shut down both _So Random _and _Mackenzie Falls_ while you guys were gone. I know _So Random_ is back, but our show is still on shaky grounds. Without our Mackenzie, we can't do anything. Do you have _any _idea where he is? He must have told you."

Sonny thought back to the previous day. The kiss, the abandonment, and the hurt were all still too fresh in her mind. "No, I haven't seen or heard from him since he left me. I'm sorry."

***

"Tawni, what's that on the television?" Sonny looked over, putting her sketch pad down. Tawni turned on the volume and they focused together.

"This morning, Chad Dylan Cooper, fugitive felon, marched up the stairs of the District Courthouse and turned himself in for the kidnapping of Sonny Monroe. When asked why he finally turned himself in, he replied he had moral issues which needed to be rectified. His first court hearing will be held this afternoon. We will keep you updated as this story develops."

"What's wrong with him?" Sonny immediately exploded. "We were giving him a free pass. Tawni, can you drive me to the courthouse?"

"No," Tawni declared firmly.

"Why not?"

"You're shaking."

"What?"

"You're hands, they are shaking. I don't think it is a good time for you to confront him."

"I'm not confronting him," Sonny explained as she dug through her purse to find her anxiety pills. "I'm getting him out of a mess he caused – again!"

"Why do you even care? I mean it's _Chad Dylan Cooper_. He kidnapped you – remember?"

"Tawni, please," Sonny begged.

"You like him – don't you!"

"If I say yes, will you take me?"

Tawni stood, shaking her head and smiling. "Let's go, before we're too late."

***

"Sonny Monroe?" a strange man paced outside the court room. "Hi, I'm Chad's attorney. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to get Chad out of this."

"I don't even know if that's possible, sweetie. The D.A. has an incredible case. She is trying to tack on extra charges which Chad will not confess to. She's even using your statement against him. Miss Monroe, I don't think there's any chance of winning this case. Even if I am the best lawyer in California."

"Well you're definitely the most expensive one!" Sonny cracked up, nudging him slightly, but the lawyer was too nervous to understand any jokes. "Besides, we don't have to win, we just have to keep him out of trouble, and I have the perfect argument."

"You do?" the lawyer and Tawni both stared her down dubiously.

"Hey, what else was I supposed to do all that time? Create sketches for two weeks straight? That's crazy!"

"Just get in there," Tawni pushed her a bit, remembering the numerous sketches they had created in her absence. Sonny nodded and cautiously entered the court room where Chad was sitting at the defense table with his hands in his hair, his elbows planted on the table, and his eyes glued to the floor.

At first she had snuck inside unnoticed, but as soon as one person saw her, they all did.

"Sonny?" Chad finally turned around, hearing the great uproar behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"Chad!" Sonny called out, literally being drowned by a ferocious wave of people.

"Order, order in this courtroom!" the judge reentered the room unannounced. "I will have order in my courtroom!" The judge's tone sent a cold silence through the room. Chad's attorney reentered the courtroom with Tawni. "Counselors, approach the bench," the judge order firmly. Both Chad's lawyer and the District Attorney walked up to the bench.

"Your honor, I must object to this! Sonny Monroe was not on the approved list of witnesses," the D.A. argued.

"Your honor," Chad's attorney fought back, "if the prosecution is permitted to use Miss Monroe's statement, then why can the defense not use her as a viable witness?"

"Sonny Monroe has not passed the needed psychiatric requirements."

"She obviously qualified to give a legally binding statement!"

"I'm going to allow this," the judge allowed and banged his gavel.

The defense attorney quickly ushered Sonny forward and began his questioning. "Sonny Monroe, approximately four weeks ago, Chad Dylan Cooper," Chad's lawyer pointed at him, "kidnapped you in cold blood – yes?"

"Yes," Sonny looked at him nervously.

"And is the statement you told the police department one-hundred percent accurate?"

"To the best of my ability, yes."

"So why in the world, Miss Monroe, are you defending him? Is it possible what you said wasn't true? Maybe he was protecting you. _Maybe_ you were the one at fault and he was keeping you out of trouble with the police!"

"Objection, your honor, speculation!"

"Withdrawn, your honor," Chad's attorney accepted. Both Sonny and Chad were getting frustrated with him. If he was not careful, he was going to ruin both of them. What neither of them realized, was that the attorney was only trying to build the jurors' interest in her reasoning. "I'm sorry, Miss Monroe, why don't you just explain it to me yourself."

"When Chad first kidnapped me, I wanted him to rot in a tiny prison cell with someone named Big Burney as his only friend. But then, the longer I thought about it, the more I feared this happening. When I returned home and saw that Condor Studios had suspended both of our shows due to our absences, reality only confirmed those fears."

"Would you elaborate Miss Monroe? What fear exactly are you speaking of?"

"Coming from a rival show, it horribly pains me to say that _Mackenzie Falls_ does indeed accumulate the most profits out of any of the shows filmed at Condor Studios. Without their Mackenzie, _Mackenzie Falls_ is nothing. If the show was to be canceled because Chad Dylan Cooper could not fulfill his role, then Condor Studios would crumble. Mr. Condor would either have to find a brand new hit show which would take the world by storm within two days, or everyone would be out of a job! Now, I'm not saying _Mackenzie Falls_ is the only thing that holds the entire studio set together, but if Chad gets in trouble, I get hurt even more. I'll lose my job, my friends, and possibly my career."

"You do not want any further harm inflicted on you, do you Miss Monroe?"

"No, sir. I don't. The relationship between Chad and I is so interlinked on a level that no one could possibly comprehend unless they were with us. If I go down, he'd go down. If he goes down today, I go down forever. Make him do community service or something. Just don't get rid of him. Please," Sonny turned to the jury, "I am begging you, don't make me suffer any more."

"That is all, your honor," Chad's attorney winked at Sonny and sat back down next to Chad who held a look of bewilderment on his face. Sonny relaxed slightly, forgetting the D.A. still had her turn in the spotlight.

***

"Hi, welcome to Tony's Big Burger, how may I help you today?" the young teenage boy stood behind the counter looking rather bored.

"Can I just have a Tony Burger and a small pop?" Ari asked softly. She had finally gotten Chad back to Hollywood and was prepared to leave for Santa Fe the following morning.

Connie's head snapped up. That voice – it was unmistakable. "You," Connie's voice quivered.

"Excuse me?" Ari turned around with her greasy bag in one hand. Connie swatted the bag to the ground. "Hey! That was my lunch!"

"_You_! It's you!" Connie continued to repeat. "You're the person on the phone! You're the one who would not get my Sonny to safety!"

"Mrs. Monroe?" Ari finally understood.

"Yes, it's me. But more importantly, who are you? I need to know for the police statement when I call 911!"

"Mrs. Monroe, you need to calm down. Let me explain."

"Explain? No! You sheltered Chad Dylan Cooper while he kidnapped my daughter. You had a million opportunities to call the police and you didn't. You wouldn't even tell me where she was. You let that monster leave with her again. If it wasn't for your ignorance, she wouldn't have been involved in that car accident. My baby can't sleep at night thanks to you."

"Connie, I did everything I could for Sonny. If I called the cops, we don't know what Chad could have done. He was in a horrible mental state those nights we were together. I didn't know if he had a weapon. I didn't know what lengths he would go to. I can tell you this, though. He had no intention of hurting her. Chad was scared."

"So you let him go?" Connie screamed.

"I tried to convince him to stay. But he found out about Sonny's phone call to you. I warned Sonny that if I helped her get a phone, he would take her away, but she insisted upon it, because she was so worried about you."

"Listen, you, I know my daughter is kind, gentle, and loving. I know she'll do anything to keep me from worrying. I'm not concerned about my daughter. You're the one I'm turning in tonight."

There was a loud roar coming from the corner of the building. Connie and Ari looked over to see what was going on. Everyone in the building gathered around a large television attached to the ceiling. The two listened to the words, but could not believe any of it.

"In the midst of the hearing of confessed felon, Chad Dylan Cooper, his victim, Sonny Monroe, dashed into the courtroom. During the defense questioning, Monroe revealed she did not want Cooper to get penalized for her own personal benefit," the report announced. Both women's jaws dropped. "We now take you live to the courtroom where the District Attorney has begun questioning on behalf of the prosecution."

***

"Would you please state your name for the people of the jury," the District Attorney began.

"Sonny Monroe," Sonny answered confidently. Her first round of questioning with Chad's lawyer had gone so well, she thought this part would be easy.

"And Miss Monroe, can you please summarize what happened in the first two weeks of this past month?"

"I was kidnapped," Sonny said remorsefully but blatantly. The jury knew what had happened, the judge knew what had happened, and the entire world knew what had happened. It was not a real shocker. The only point the D.A. was trying to prove, was that Sonny had been kidnapped – a crime.

"And who kidnapped you, Miss Monroe?"

"Chad," Sonny muttered.

"Who?" The D.A. pushed. "Can you please give us the full name of your attacker and tell me if said person is sitting somewhere in this court room."

"It was Chad Dylan Cooper, and he's sitting right there. But my word is irrelevant – he's already confessed!"

"It's just for the record, Miss Monroe, please do not speak out of turn. Now, you were hospitalized immediately following your return; is this correct?"

"Yes, but a missing person must be taken to the hospital if the police are involved. It's not unusual."

"No, Miss Monroe, you're right, but what is unusual is the amount of time you were forced to spend in the hospital. Would you care to explain what for and why you were in the hospital for at least a week?" Sonny bit her lip but continued slowly. The judge was going to make her reply anyways. Everyone sat in shock as they heard the horrible list of injuries and illnesses Sonny had accrued over her time with Chad.

"And Miss Monroe, would you not say that this was a crime?"

"No, it was, that is what I am saying. I mean, he has already admitted to kidnapping me. And I get that the state wishes to press charges beyond what he has confessed to, but instead of sending him to jail, please just have him do community service."

"I'm going to show you some pictures, Miss Monroe, and I would like you to tell me if any of these people should 'just do community service.'" The D.A. walked over to her briefcase and pulled out multiple pictures of past criminals. All of these men were big, burly, convicted kidnappers. Their mug shots alone made one nervous.

"Matthew Lammings, age 46. Two years ago, Mr. Lammings kidnapped 16-year-old Margaret Clark. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison. Stanley Plink, age 23, kidnapped 10-year-old Jackson Michaels. 11 years in prison. Christopher Gray, age 38, kidnapped 13-year-old Michelle Davis and her 6-year-old younger brother. 18 years in prison. Finally, _Dr._ Richard Conreaux, age 39, department head of one of the largest business chains here on the West Coast. On December 24, 2002 – Christmas Eve – Dr. Conreaux kidnapped his best friend's 14-year-old daughter, Kristen Elizabeth straight from her bed. I'm sure that was not the Christmas Day surprise her family was expecting. This is a picture of _16_-year-old Kristen Elizabeth the day she was found, two painful years later."

The D.A. showed the whole court two pictures. One was of Kristen Elizabeth, pale, beaten, barely alive, and another of Sonny. It was the picture of Sonny Officer Buck had taken of her on Marshall's desk. The similarity of the two pictures was overwhelming. Kristen Elizabeth was also a brunette teenager who had a cut on her forehead, a broken arm, and was covered in bruises. She had lost even more weight than Sonny had, but after two years, Sonny could imagine why. It was a dirty trick the District Attorney was playing – but it was certainly working.

"All these men were fully convicted of the crimes they committed. Now, I'm sorry, but the similarity between the two is irrefutable. Could it be any less obvious that Chad Dylan Cooper is guilty of battery, kidnapping, and welfare neglect?"

"Objection, your honor!" Chad's attorney exploded. "Unlawful comparison to unrelated crimes and there was no question directed at Miss Monroe."

"Sustained. You know better, counselor," the judge admonished.

"My apologies, your honor," the D.A. turned around and gave Chad's attorney a quick smirk. Even if her attempt was discredited, there were certain things the jury members could not unsee or unhear. The D.A. quickly finished her questioning, and Sonny was permitted to leave the stand. She was shaking slightly from the barrage of questions, but Tawni assured her that she had done fine.

"We will now take a recess while the jury deliberates. Court is adjourned for six hours," the judge hit his gavel against his desk and stood to leave.

***

"May I have a moment alone with Sonny?" Chad asked once he, his attorney, Tawni, and Sonny had all entered the private room they were forced to stay in. Because Chad had technically been arrested, he could not leave the room.

"Chad, I'm not sure if that is a good idea," his attorney warned.

"I'm not going to hurt her. I just want to speak with her for a moment. We haven't seen one another in a long time."

The lawyer nodded and slowly pulled Tawni from the room. "I'll be right outside if you need anything," he whispered in Sonny's ear. Sonny nodded but knew that she was perfectly safe already.

For a long time, the two just stared at one another. It was good to see him again without the large, bulky, black glasses. His blond hair was beginning to push through the black dye. His face had lost its tension.

"What were you thinking?" he finally spoke. "You could have gotten yourself in trouble as well." Chad took a step closer to Sonny who firmly stood her own ground.

"I'm here to help you."

"I don't need your help, Sonny."

"Apparently you do!"

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know. It's just a feeling – more like a dream. And you told me you had one too, so don't act like you don't. Why won't you just let me help you?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt more than you already are. I mean look at you! The bruises have faded, but you still look sleep deprived and emaciated, and your arm is broken! You had kidney failure, Sonny! And I completely ignored it. I'm sorry."

"I know you are, Chad, and I have forgiven you. I completely understand what happened and I don't blame you for everything."

"One more question. When you said that you were asking for community service only for your own benefit, was that completely true?"

"Not really," Sonny faded off. "It was also for Tawni, Grady, Nico, Zora, and Marshall." Chad's face dropped. Sonny giggled a little and Chad instantly knew she was kidding. "Of course it was for you, Chad. Why else would I have gone through all of that trouble?"

"I-I-I love you, Sonny Monroe." Chad crossed the rest of the floor and grabbed her hands. "But it's too dangerous for you to be with me." His eyes lost eye contact with hers. "Whenever I'm near you, I hurt you."

"That is _not _true, Chad," Sonny's eyes began to tear. "You are the one person I feel really safe with. The only time you really hurt me was when you left me. Don't leave me again, Chad, don't."

"We're going to have to wait until the jury's decision."

"Then will you at least sign my cast? You're the only one who has not yet signed it." Chad hesitantly agreed and found a marker. Sonny could not help but smile as his arm brushed against hers as it positioned the marker over the cast.

"Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt, but the jury is in," Chad's lawyer opened the door.

"Already? But it's only been like ten minutes!" Chad fret.

"Come on," Sonny encouraged, "We'll do it together."

***

Sonny sat directly behind Chad as the judge and jury members entered the courtroom.

"Mr. Foreman, would you please stand and read the jury's decisions," the judge ordered.

"Yes, your honor," the foreman of the jury stood. "In the case of California against Chad Dylan Cooper, for the charge of kidnapping a minor, we find the defendant guilty." Chad's heart sunk, even though it was a predicted conviction. "For the charge of battery, we find the defendant not guilty." Chad's spirit soared. If he had to go to jail, at least he would be going with people knowing he would never lay a hand on her. "And for the charge of neglect, we find the defendant not guilty."

"Thank you, Mr. Foreman. Mr. Cooper, please rise for your sentencing," the judge demanded. "Well, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Chad Dylan Cooper, is there anything you would like to say in your defense."

"Yes, your honor. I would like to tell Sonny Monroe how truly sorry I am for what happened. It was stupid and I don't know how it happened and why I carried it on for so long. And I'm sorry to everyone who worried so desperately for us. This was entirely my fault, and I'm sorry."

"Chad Dylan Cooper, I have heard quite a few different ideas as to how to handle your case. But there is only one I think will work." Chad held his breath for the judge. "I have decided to follow Miss Monroe's idea and order you to one-thousand hours of community service. You will be put on probation for the next two years minimum. Mr. Cooper, I do not want to see you in my court room again. Do you firmly understand?"

"Yes, yes your honor," Chad glowed.

"In the case of California vs. Chad Dylan Cooper, Mr. Cooper, you are free to leave. Court is adjourned."

Then whole courtroom erupted with joyous noise. Certain people seemed frustrated by the judge's decision, but there was one girl who seemed perfectly content.

"You saved me," Chad leaned over the railing separating him from Sonny. "You helped me. I couldn't have done without you, Sonny Monroe. Don't ever leave me. If I've said it once, I'll say it again. I am so sorry for everything. But I want to make up for my wrongs." At last, Chad placed his hand on the back of Sonny's head and pulled her willingly into a kiss. She could feel the warmth in his touch. He could smell the scent of her hair. She was not being hurt by his gentle hands. He seemed to care about nothing else but her in that very moment.

"Sonny Monroe," Connie marched into the courtroom.

"Mom," Sonny quickly pulled away, acting as if she was trying to hide where she was. "What brings you along?"

"Sonny Monroe, what were you thinking? You are not in the right mental state to take this kind of stress on."

"No, Mom, I think for the first time in a long time, I'm okay," Sonny reached out and grabbed Chad's hand, interlinking their fingers. "Everything is going to be just fine."

***

EPILOGUE

"Chad, please," Sonny begged in a grave tone. Every muscle lining her body twitched and ached with fear. Her legs were becoming weaker by the second. She did not know how long it would take for them to fail completely. "Chad, don't, I'm begging you."

"I'm sorry, Sonny, but I just can't do it anymore," Chad sneered. The boy held the girl roughly by her shoulders, forcing her to look over the edge of a large cliff.

"But Chad, I helped you – I did!" Sonny's voice finally cracked. "I kept you out of trouble, I saved your career, we're together, we're happy! You promised you were going to take care of me."

"I'm sorry, Sonny, I love you, I always have, and I always will, but I just can't."

"Chad, please!" Sonny cried as she felt her feet sliding through gravel – it hurt. Sonny looked down and saw she was barefooted. Chad's hands seemed to be causing her a tremendous amount of pain wherever they touched her. She looked over her shoulder at the black-haired boy pushing her forward. "I love you, Chad, please don't do this." Sonny's toes touched the end of the ground. All that was left before her was air. Digging her heels into rock, bits and pieces broke off and tumbled down the side – a bleak picture that was soon to include her.

"Goodbye, Sonny," Chad gave one final push. Sonny's arms flailed, trying to catch his arm, but down she fell, screaming his name all the way to the bottom.

The spiked rocks at the bottom signaled sudden death. Sonny watched them get closer and closer. She let out one final cry – a somewhat final huzzah on life – then the world went black.

Sonny shot up from the bus seat she was sitting it. She, Chad, Tawni, and Ferguson had been sent on a small road trip across the state to help cast new actors for a new television series Mr. Condor had thought up. Sonny looked down behind her. Her 'pillow' was still sleeping quietly and seemed not to be shaken by the sudden burst. Chad, whose blonde hair had fully come through, still slept like a baby, in the same position she had fallen asleep on. Looking around, Sonny noticed Tawni and Ferguson were still deeply asleep and the only other one awake was the bus driver himself. The coach bus was decent but a little overzealous for four people. The driver of the grand vehicle did not appear to notice her nightmare.

It had been over a year since the kidnapping incident. Chad had just finished the last bit of his community service – three and a half hours every day except Sundays all year. Sonny had stopped seeing Dr. Carmen, her psychiatrist, several months before. Everything had returned to normal – well, almost everything.

Sonny lay back down on top of her boyfriend and nuzzled her head into his neck, finding her previous position. She wanted to fall asleep again in his arms, but the dream had shaken her awake. She had forgiven him, they had moved on, he never hurt her ever, and yet she was still having these horrible nightmares almost weekly. Sometimes, some scars are just cut too deep.

THE END


End file.
